Undertale: Dissonant Darkness
by chazonic
Summary: A young teenager has been hiding a secret from his friends for a while. When he's suddenly thrust into an adventure he never asked for, keeping such a dark secret could wind up tearing them apart. After all... RESET can be a finicky tool even in a sterile environment. You can never predict when something new happens.(Female Frisk, OC X OC, will contain depression and some nihilism)
1. Chapter 1 - Dissonant Disappearance

Tenebris sighed as he looked outside of his window in the desolate house he lived in.

The home he lived in used to belong to his parents when they were alive. They had died in an unfortunate car crash involving a drunk driver a couple of months ago, leaving him the sole inheritor of everything they owned, being an only child. They had apparently willed everything to him and stated outright that he is to be able to live the house they lived in if he wanted to.

When Tenebris did hear about it, he did decide to stay, but some lingering pain remained in his soul; of the memories he shared with them and the good times they had.

They died on his birthday.

He sighed again as he reluctantly recalled why it took him longer than it should have to hear of his parents' death. He was kidnapped half a year prior to the accident and he had managed to escape a few days after the accident... after his birthday. He recalled being desperate for his mother's touch and his father's stern yet caring voice as he found ways back home, only for the news to completely crush him.

Ever since, he became a social introvert and dropped out of school, refusing to really interact with anyone. He was 16 years old, and he already felt, for the most part, that he had no future.

He touched the eye patch over his left eye, trying desperately not to remember why he was kidnapped in the first place. His eye flared a bit in pain and dark thoughts attempted to invade his mind again. He quickly shook them off; he was used to doing it at this point.

His thoughts were interrupted by the door bell ringing. Because he rarely went out, only four people ever came to his house. Two are the neighbors, who were friends with his parents, often came over with groceries for him to live on.

The other two...

"Hey, Tenebris!" "Hey, Tenny!"

He smiled as he beheld the other two people he managed opened up to. The 10 year old and one who called him 'Tenny', Frisk, and her 17 year old sister, Selendis. "Hey, girls. What brings you here today?"

Tenebris met them a month after the death of his parents. His neighbors had finally convinced him to go out of his house and doing something other than play games and watch anime. He wasn't even the one who approached them; Frisk saw him off on his own and talked to him on the account that he looked... contemplative and lonely. Tenebris wanted to be alone, but she was determined to become his friend, even resorting to flirting which caught him completely off guard.

It certainly made for an awkward first conversation with Selendis when she saw her kid sister flirting with a random guy. What threw Tenebris even more off guard was the fact that she was used to it; Frisk frequently flirts innocently in an attempt to make friends, with very mixed results. In the end, her determination and innocent kindness is what allowed him to fully accept her into his life.

Selendis was very kind as well, yet she always held an air of perseverance and integrity about her. While Tenebris was initially intimidated by he because of this, he realized just how relatable she was after interacting with her more. Both had also lost their parents in an accident and Selendis had to drop school in order to support Frisk as best as she could.

Tenebris had quickly developed a small crush on her, but decided that he's fine being just friends with her. He doubted she would ever see him the same way, especially if she ever found out...

Selendis shook her head. "Oh, I thought we would come visit you today before Frisk has to go to school tomorrow. You know how she is."

Tenebris snorted. "Yeah, she can be quite 'frisky'." This got a laugh out of Frisk and a groan out of Selendis. He initially lost his sense of humor when his parents died, but he was feeling better enough about himself to start making bad puns again. Frisk enjoyed the creative word-play, but Selendis...

"Okay, how many times have you used that pun? It's seriously getting old."

"Aw, come on Selendis. You have to give it some credit: it's 'finely aged'!"You could practically hear the rimshot. "And before you say anything, you're the ones who wanted to be friends with me."

She glares at him. "No, Frisk was the one who wanted to be friends with you. I was just along for the ride."

"You make it sound like you didn't have a choice."

Frisk giggled. "Aw come on, Selly. At least admit that you enjoy having him around. Besides, you're smiling."

"I am and I hate it!" She sighs before smiling. "Bus I suppose, at the end of the day... yeah, you are right."

Tenebris shook his head. "Well I'm being a bad host. Come on in and make yourselves at home." This was meant both literally and figuratively. The sisters visited him so much that his home became a second home to them.

The rest of the day was playing video games and talking about the future, with the occasional pun thrown in at Selendis' expense. Frisk did comment about being bullied at her school, but she made it sound very mild and passed it off as nothing. This got Selendis worried regardless; even if you didn't want to be friends with her, it was hard to be mean to such a sweet kid. Tenebris mirrored the worry, but ultimately passed it off; Frisk was as emotionally strong as she was kind.

* * *

Monday started out decently well. Tenebris had made himself a breakfast pizza made up of sausage, ham, spinach, and cheese on an egg 'crust'. Selendis did try to teach him how to cook, but the only thing he could make half-way decent was his pizzas. Everything else always came out inedible, though Frisk admitted to one case where it was "strangely delicious" despite that.

Heck, one time he made a dish that caused uncontrollable arm-flailing in Selendis and enthusiastic dish-washing in Frisk. None of them knew how he did it, nor could he replicate it. Selendis blames his lack of success on the fact that she makes for a horrible teacher; she gets impatient when trying to teach, resulting in rushed and random products.

Tenebris admitted to the sisters that, even after being friends with them for so long, he doesn't do much of anything until Frisk gets out of school on weekends. He always spends time playing games and watching anime, though he did rebuild his workout schedule so that he didn't gain any weight. It didn't help that his diet primarily consisted of home-made pizza.

It was in the middle of one of these work-outs in the afternoon when Selendis came to his house... without Frisk.

"H-have you seen Frisk at all?" Her voice sounded very shaky and panicked.

Tenebrus checked the clock. It read 4:30 PM, meaning Frisk should of been out of school for a while. "I haven't... what's going on?"

Her expression fell. "O-oh, her teachers called after lunch asking why she didn't come to class. At first I was confused, but I told the teacher I would look into it. School breaks and she doesn't even come home!"

Her words filled Tenebrus with dread.


	2. Chapter 2: Fallen Down

The first place you think of for answers is always the last place you search.

The day after Frisk seemingly vanished off the face of the earth had Selendis getting the police involved in the search. She was constantly having panic attacks, always roaming in search for her little sister; the only immediate family she had left. Tenebris was also worried sick and put his typical habits aside until Frisk was found, actively roaming the city and asking questions.

What dampened their spirits was that, after two whole days of searching with the help of the police, there were still no leads to Frisk's location and well-being.

Tenebris decided the next day to ask around at her school to see if any of the kids saw her leave on that day. Many pointed him in the direction of what is supposedly the school's "most infamous girl bullies".

Of course, they refused to co-operate. "You kiddin'? Who cares about what that loser has gotten herself into."

This immediately did not sit well with him. "Then I assume you're the bullies who've been pestering her as of late before she vanished. I would say "nice meeting you", but that's clearly not the case here." He gives them a withering look, making them shrink back a bit. Even at the height of his grieving over his parents, he never got angry. "I suppose this means you won't be telling me just what you did or told her." They got back their stubborn look and he sighed. "A real shame... nobody ever want's to talk things out anymore... how disappointing. Well..." He gives them a dark stare. " ** _I suppose we will have to do things the hard way_**."

"A-a-alright, we'll talk, we'll talk! Just... please leave us be after this!"

That certainly wasn't the case. A teacher had overheard them confess that they dared her to do something dangerous if she wanted to be friends with them so badly. That something dangerous? Climbing the nearby Mount Ebott.

After the bullies were herded away by the teacher, Tenebris looked at the infamous mountain with a thoughtful look of dread. _Ebott... anyone who ever climbs that mountain never returns. If Frisk did indeed go up there, she may already be..._

Of course when Selendis heard about where Frisk went, she immediately started packing things for the trip there, which confused him greatly. "You know about what they say about that place, right? Then why are you-"

She gives him a hard look. "I don't care! I refuse to believe that Frisk would simply just die going up a mountain and because of that, I'm going in after her."

He sighs. "I guess you're right. Perhaps I gave up a little too soon... sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault. If anything, I'm grateful for you getting information on her whereabouts, so I'll take it from here on."

A loud "HAH" erupted from him. "You're nuts if you think you're heading up into that death-trap alone. In the short amount of time I spent with you guys, you felt like family to me. There's no way I'm letting you go alone, not when so much is at stake."

This caught Selendis by surprise before she gave a warm smile. "Thank you, Tenebris. You'd better get ready then; the sooner we leave, the better chance we have of finding her alive."

He simply nodded and left to dash towards his home. All he got was a backpack with a filled water bottle and a few granola bars for snacks and a rain coat. The forecast predicted rain, so he wanted to be prepared.

He touched his eye-patch as a thought crossed is mind, which made his eye flare up in pain again. He hoped that he wouldn't have to resort to what he had hidden, but he couldn't predict everything, so he changed that hope to only 'using' it if the need was desperate.

After meeting up with Selendis at the outskirts of the city, they both rushed off towards Ebott, which is typically a half-day hike from the city. By the time they reached the base of the mountain it was noon, which made them waste no time in beginning their search by calling Frisk's name. They both knew that if Frisk was still alive and on top of the mountain, then she would have already came home, but calling seemed to make them feel better.

This was interrupted when the sky started spitting slightly, much to the dismay of Selendis. "I didn't pack a coat!"

Tenebris face-palmed before giving the blond-haired girl a flat look. "Don't you listen to forecasts? They DID say there was a chance of rain this afternoon and it looks to be the case." He sighs before smirking a little. "Good thing I brought mine for a 'rainy day'!"

"Tenebris, don't do this to me, not now anyways!" The way she sharply cut him off made him chuckle nervously. If he wasn't depressed, he made bad jokes to cope with situations like this. "Anyways, I see a cave up ahead. Let's get there before the rain get's too bad."

"Heh... roger."

What the didn't expect was the cave to literally be a small room with a hole in the ground...

That was surrounded by conveniently placed vines for tripping. The moment the duo entered the cave, they both tripped and fell into the hole. Thinking that if he couldn't save himself he could save Selendis, Tenebris grabbed her and flipped her so that if they landed, she would land on him. When they hit the bottom, they both blacked out from the impact.

* * *

"Huh... I knew SHE'D be here, a fair bit early this time, but... looks like there's something even newer in play now!"

There was a laugh as a shadowed figure observed the two unconscious humans before it disappeared underground.

"Let's see if they can even survive past the first room this time... past ME!"

* * *

Selendis was the first to start waking up, her body still feeling pained. She noticed that she was on something soft and when she looked, she realized that Tenebris took the brunt of her fall, which immediately freaked her out. "Oh god, Tenebrus. Please wake up! I... I didn't mean to-"

"Muh-gyu..." He croaked as he started to regain consciousness himself. His entire body was wracked with pain from the fall. When he opened his eye, he saw Selendis hovering over him, looking like she was about to cry. "Hey... are you alright?"

She quickly shook her head. "Forget about me! What about you? I landed on you and I... I... oh god, are you severely hurt? Can you even move?"

"I'll concede, my everything hurts." This got a cry of anguish from Selendis. "But I'll be fine. Frisk is more important than falling pains." He slowly got up and shook himself a bit, the pain slowly going away. "See? I'll be fine. Thank god for those flowers. They must be more springy or soft than they look."

He noticed Selendis staring at him and her blue eyes connected with his green one. She shook her head. "I suppose if you're well enough to move. But let me know if you start having problems. The last thing I want is to find Frisk down here, only to lose you; she would be utterly crushed."

Tenebris sighed. "I said I'll be fine! Anyways, where are we? This doesn't exactly look like the innards of a mountain."

The walls of the 'cave' they were in were brick-like and smooth with a soft purple color to them. Ahead looked like a door-way with a fancy-looking arch.

They walked forward into the next room and stopped to gawk at the one thing that was in the middle of the room.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!"


	3. Chapter 3 - A Ruined Welcome

"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" Both of the humans stared at the animated flower, seemingly dumbfounded. Flowey simply smiled, almost smirked, at them. "Judging by your reactions, you're both new to the Underground, aren'tcha?"

This question snapped Tenebris out of his stupor. "I've heard the legends of monsters being sealed under Mount Ebott, but I never realized that was actually true. Then again, if games taught me anything, it's that if there's a legend, it's always true."

Selendis gave him a flat look. "Video games of all things taught you that?"

"Ey, no judging."

Flowey giggled. "Well he IS correct. However, I'm willing to bet that you're confused right now, huh?" The humans exchanged looks before slowly nodding. "Well, you aught to learn how things work down here or else you might be caught unprepared! Since nobody else is around, I guess little old me will have to do."

Tenebris hummed a bit. Even if Flowey looked pretty trustworthy, he wasn't allowing his suspension of disbelief to go through. They were trapped in what is essentially an alien world, meaning anything could be possible. _Perhaps Flowey's "lesson" could help alleviate some of that hostility?_

Before he could ponder it further, Flowey cut in. "Judging by your silence, I take it you're ready? Then here we go!"

Suddenly the room got darker and Flowey suddenly became all white instead of colored. Both of the humans felt something pulling from their chest and when they looked down, they saw a heart-shaped over their chests.

"See those hearts? Those are your SOULs, The very... um... culmination of... uh... your being." Flowey couldn't help being tripped up as he adopted a surprised look. The female had a green soul that occasionally had blue or purple swirl over it, that much he knew.

The male's soul? It was a very dark purple, border-lining on black; something he has never seen before. Flowey recomposed himself and corrected his smile. _So there's more to this newest anomaly than just being an extra person. This will be interesting... very interesting._

Flowey wasn't the only one who noticed. Tenebris noticed that his soul was a lot darker than Selendis' and he though it was because of how dark and/or depressing his thoughts were for a while, which permanently stained his soul. That... or something else changed it.

Flowey noticed the looks he was getting from the humans. "Oh golly, don't pay that any mind. Anyways, your souls start off weak, but can grow stronger if you gain a lot of LV."

Tenebris frowned. "LV? Like levels? The Underground is starting to feel like a massive, real-life RPG at this point."

Flowey giggled again. "You're partially correct. LV stands for LOVE! Everyone loves... well, LOVE, right?"

Selendis sighed. "That sounded so cheesy, but I suppose... that's true."

"Well don't worry, I'll share some with you!" Flowey punctuated that sentence with a wink before summoning five spinning white ovals. "Down here, LOVE is shared through little white... 'friendliness pellets'. At least I do; other monsters share theirs through somewhat similar means, depending on who you're talking to. The only consistent is that all of them are white."

Selendis nodded, but Tenebris didn't like how Flowey said 'friendliness pellets' or how his eyes shifted right when he said it. Flowey didn't give him any chance to really think it over. "Mine will serve as a taste at least. Ready? Gather as many as you can!"

Tenebris's eyes shot up as the pellets started moving towards them. His face contorted in horror when he connected the dots and saw Selendis reaching for one. "Wait, don't-"

She let out a cry of pain and fell backwards when the pellet phased through her hand and collided with her soul. He kneeled down and clutched her as he glared at the flower, who now wore a demonically sadistic grin. " _You idiots! I wasn't lying when I said I would teach you how things went. It's kill or be killed down here, and nobody will ever try to save you! After all, why would anybody pass up an opportunity like this?!_ "

Suddenly the two humans were completely surrounded by the same pellets that severely hurt Selendis, with no way to avoid them. "With a loud hiss of "DIE" from Flowey, he started cackling madly as the pellets started to close in on them.

Selendis had begun sobbing, both in pain and from the fact that they were about to die without ever finding Frisk. Tenebris hugged her tightly to protect her before mentally sighing. _Looks like my hand has already been forced._

He began imagining all of the pellets bursting into flame before he snapped his fingers on his left hand. His left eye flared up in pain and all of the pellets suddenly combusted in dark purple flames.

That was the reason why he was kidnapped so many months ago.

Flowey immediately stopped laughing and gave a surprised look. "What? How'd you...?"

Selendis stopped sobbing and looked up to see why they haven't died yet, only to be surprised that the pellets were gone. "W-what happened?"

Flowey grinned. "So that's how it is, then? Well lucky you! I suppose I'll let you two go for now, it'll be much more interesting that way, but don't forget the one rule down here: Kill or be killed! I wonder how long you will last out there." He shot an even bigger grin at Tenebris. "And how long until you're consumed." He let out another chilling laugh before disappearing underground, the area relighting and the human's souls going back into their bodies.

Tenebris sighed before look back at Selendis. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I-I don't know. That pain... it's unlike any pain I've felt before. It hurt... so bad..." She lets out a shuddered breath before standing. "I... think I'll be fine though. The pain fading into a dull throb, so we shouldn't waste anymore time here. If what that psychopathic flower said is true, he won't be the only monster out there to try and kill us. In fact, that makes our mission to find Frisk all the more vital; who knows how long until a monster gets it's filthy hands on my sister"

Tenebris nods. "If you're feeling better, then we should hurry." He stood up with her, but lagged behind her when they moved to exit the room, his eye still burning from before. It was the first time in a while he used his power since he was infused with it and his eye was reacting negatively to it.

He shook his head and did his best to ignore it as he quickly caught up to Selendis, who started speaking. "The one thing that still worries me is the fact that we're unarmed. Against monsters who can used ranged attacks like that flower, we wouldn't stand a chance."

"Unless you can improvise something else, they only things we can do is hit them over the head with a metal water bottle or with some granola bars. Other than that, I've got nothing."

She grunts. "I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We can prioritize finding effective weapons after we find Frisk."

As they walked on, they were unnerved by how strangely empty the ruins were, as well as the fact that many of the 'puzzles' have already been solved. Both of them figured Frisk was the one who solved them and quickened their pace, hoping that there were no monsters on her path.

It was in the room with a random training dummy that their 'luck' ran out. "Oh my goodness, I didn't expect more humans!"

Both of them whirled on the spot and took up offensive stances against what looked like an anthropomorphic goat. Their sudden aggression caught the monster off guard "Ah, do not be afraid, my children. I mean you no harm."

Selendis let out a growl. "And where's the guarantee that you won't try to kill us as soon as we lower our guards?"

Tenebris nodded. "One monster already tried to kill us by being friendly. We refuse to be tricked like that again!"

The monster let out a sigh. "Let me guess: you ran into a psychopathic flower when you fell down here?" She shook her head sadly when the two humans gave her a shocked look. "That vile creature only speaks poison. Do not heed anything it says; it'll only serve to misguide you." She sighs again when both humans looked unconvinced. "I suppose I can't blame you for acting like that, however. To be tricked like that would certainly make anyone paranoid. But please, give me time and I can prove to you that I mean you no harm."

Both Tenebris and Selendis couldn't help but feel relaxed by the monster's soft, motherly voice. Tenebris especially didn't see anything in her facial expressions that told him she was lying. Selendis let out a soft sigh. "Al...alright. But if we-"

"Wait, your soul is injured!" The monster approached Selendis and gave her what looked like candy. "Eat this, it will help you feel better."

She looked at the candy apprehensively before eating it. As soon as she swallowed it, relief spread through her body and the pain receded. "I-I do feel better. T-thank you..."

The monster smile. "I'm grateful that you feel better. My name is Toriel and I'm the caretaker of these ruins. If you'd like, you can come with me to where I live."

The humans looked at each other until Selendis shrugged. "We... would greatly appreciate it. Between our fall and that flower, I think both of us need a rest."

Toriel smiles. "I'll be honored to have you. Ah, before I get ahead of myself, I should warn you. As humans in the Underground, other monsters may try and attack you." This immediately got her nervous looks. "Don't worry, many monsters are actually very kind. They just... express themselves in ways that are unintentionally harmful to humans. If you happen to encounter one, try striking up a friendly conversation. More often than not, it'll convince them to leave you alone if you're pleasant to them."

Tenebris raised an eyebrow. "All it takes is friendly conversation and they'll leave us alone?"

"Well... perhaps not always. You may encounter monsters who will leave you alone if you appease them in a certain way, but that's for another time. For now, come along and I'll show you the way towards my home."

Tenebris nodded. "Alright. We'll try not to overstay our welcome."

Torial giggled. "Don't be silly. I can handle two more of you, though I might need to make further arrangements."

"Wait, two more of us?" Selendis looked curious as the trio started walking.

"Oh, yes. Another human recently fell before you, a few days ago I believe. She's been living with me ever since I guided her to my home."

Selendis suddenly grabbed Toriel by both wrists. "Please tell me, does she have brown hair, green eyes, and is wearing a blue sweater with magenta stripes?"

This caught the monster off guard. "Why... yes to all of them. Why?"

Selendis started crying, much to Toriel's confusion. "I can't believe it... I finally found my little sister!"


	4. Chapter 4 : The Home Stead

Toriel gives the two humans a shocked look. "You're that girl's older siblings? She talked about having AN older sibling, but not two."

Tenebris shook his head. "She is. I'm just the out-of-place friend here. My name's Tenebris, by the way, and she's Selendis."

Selendis was still shuddering with relief. "S-so she's alright? I... I'm so glad. I thought... I thought..." She started crying again.

Toriel drew her into a hug. "She's alright, my child. She... unfortunately had a run-in with that vile flower as well, hence why I knew about it. I saved her before it could do any lasting harm and escorted her to my abode."

"Oh... oh, thank you... thank you... without her, I... I would be all alone..." Tenebris shot Selendis a sad look, knowing all too well just how crushing and isolating it can be to lose ones entire family. Plus, it was the first time she broke down like that ever since he met her.

After Selendis calmed down Toriel gave the humans a smile. "It's been a pleasure looking after her; she's a little bundle of energy. However... she's very... interesting?"

Tenebris snorted. "Let me guess, she flirted with you?" He forced down another snort when he saw Toriel's face and shook his head. "She flirted with ME when we first met. Certainly made for an awkward first conversation with Selendis."

Selendis rolled her eyes. "Yeah, she's currently of the opinion that she can make friends by flirting with them. She's very innocent while doing so, though, so I'm not too worried about it; she'll grow out of it... eventually."

"I... I see. I said that because she flirted with me AFTER calling me "mom"."

This got deadpan look from Selendis. "She called you mom? That's odd..."

"She hasn't called me mom since. I asked her about it and she said she just wanted to make me happy. Of course I understood."

Tenebris suddenly started grinning. "I can see it; you do give a strong impression of a motherly figure, even from the little time I've known you. After all... who doesn't love a 'MOMster'!?"

Toriel burst out laughing while Selendius facepalmed. "Tenebris no!"

"Tenebris yes!"

Toriel managed to stop laughing. "Okay, that's a good one. I've got one: What does a skeleton tile is roof with? Shin-gles!"

Tenebris burst out laughing as well, drowning out Selendis' groan. "Why am I surrounded by people with a taste for horrible jokes again?"

Tenebris gave her another grin. "You think I make bad jokes just because I can?" This got a glare out of her.

Toriel shook her head. "Now now, children, play nice. Besides, we should get going; I bet Frisk is wondering where I am right now."

"Ah, yeah. Probably shouldn't keep the family reunion waiting..." Tenebris trailed off at the end, earning a worried look and a confused look from Selendis and Toriel respectively.

He didn't just trail off because he himself lost his family while he was gone; that was only half of it. The other half was his eye; it had started burning a lot more than before and he was desperately trying to ignore it.

After traversing the ruins a bit and encountering monsters named Froggits along the way, one of them asking the humans to show mercy to a monster unwilling to fight, a thought crossed Toriel's mind. "I need to ask: I know why you two fell down here but why did Frisk fall down? She doesn't seem like a child who's given up on everything, especially with her having a loving older sister and a great friend."

Selendis shook her head. "I don't know why either. She's always been an energetic and determined kid, but..."

"Ah yeah, about that..." The two females turn to see Tenebris blanching. "I was going to bring this up sooner or later but... the reason Frisk climbed Mount Ebott? Purely because she was _dared_ to."

Both of them adopted horrified looks, but Toriel spoke up first. "My goodness... how awful. I hope the ones behind this are punished fittingly!"

"Last I checked, they were going to be."

" _Good..._ " Shivers went down Tenebris' and Toriel's spines when they heard Selendis speak in a very dark voice.

The mood had lightened up by the time they reached Toriel's house. "Oh, I completely forgot to ask. Do you two like cinnamon or butterscotch?" Tenebris and Selendis answered "cinnamon" and "butterscotch" respectively and simultaneously. This resulted in the both of them giving each other flat looks and a mischievous giggle from Toriel. "I think I can accommodate." As soon as she entered the house she called out, "My child, I'm home!"

"Mrs. Toriel! You've been gone for longer than normal, what hap-" Frisk rounded out of her bedroom and was suddenly at a loss for words when she saw who had entered the house.

Selendis gave her a smile, almost on the verge of crying again. "F-Frisk!"

"Selly! Tenny!" She rushed forward and met her older sister in an embrace. "I-I so happy!"

Tenebris ruffled her hair. "You had us scared to death, kid."

Selendis squeezed her a little tighter. "Please... don't do that to me ever again. I can't... I can't lose you as well..."

Frisk whimpered a bit. "I'm sorry. It's just... some kids told me I had to do that if I wanted to be their friend and I wanted to prove that to them."

Selendis broke the hug and stared at Frisk right in the eyes with a worried look. "Frisk, if they were wiling to send you here of all placed, they won't be very good friends. Just... promise me you won't do something reckless like that again, please?"

"I won't." Frisk broke eye contact and went to hug Tenebris, which he kneeled down to accept. "I'm just glad you two came to find me."

He chuckles. "If you think we're just gonna let you go like that, you've got another think coming. You're the first friend I've had in forever; I'm not about to let it end like that."

Toriel smiled at the scene. Her heart was filling with warmth at the siblings reconciling, but she also felt a longing for the life she once had. She quickly shook it off. "Well, I'm sure you two are hungry. I've got a surprise for you!"

The two older humans looked at each other in confusion as Toriel entered the kitchen, which made Frisk smile knowingly. When she came out, she was carrying two plates with a slice of pie on both. "It might not be fresh, but I hope it will suffice."

Selendis gasped softly. "Not only were you taking care of Frisk, but you're feeding us just like that?"

"But of course. After all, I want to take care of you all as best as I can."

Both of the older humans had a bite of the pie and were surprised to find it containing both cinnamon and butterscotch, much to their delight. During their 'meal', Toriel mentioned that she wanted to adopt them all as her own children. Frisk was happy with it, Selendis was a bit iffy about it, but ultimately decided that there was nothing left for them in their surface life anyways. While Toriel never got a direct answer from Tenebris, he was seriously considering it.

He just hoped that his secret would continue to be safe in the underground.


	5. Chapter 5 - Dark Corners

_"You freak of nature, you shouldn't even exist!"_

 _"Dark abominations like yourself don't deserve to live in the light!"_

 _"You wanna know what would be better for everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD!"_

Tenebris clutched his head, many hateful voices telling him he shouldn't exist. "N-no... please stop, I... I didn't have a choice. I never had a choice!"

 _"Since when did you think anything's not your fault?"_ He sees the ghastly faces of his parents, both crying black ooze. _"You're the one who decided to go out that day. You're the one who was so easily deceived by those people!"_

"H-how was I s-supposed to-"

 _"And to top it all off, you left behind everything we left for you. Everything we owned; it was worthless to you in the end."_ They suddenly got closer, angry looks behind their blackened eyes. _"Why? Why did you leave all of it behind? Why did you leave US behind?"_ Tenebris tried to respond, but his voice was drowned by the increasing volume of their questions. _"And why, why did you leave all of our memories behind?! Are we that unimportant to you now? That you would leave everything behind just to find a new parent? **Are we that replaceable?!** "_

* * *

Tenebris woke up with a garbled scream that didn't alert anyone else in the household, his left eye burning even more. He brought both of his knees to his chest and wept, everything telling him that his existence is pointless; just another waste of space. The memories of his parents cursing him for leaving everything they left him behind.

Both Selendis and Frisk opted to sleep in Toriel's bed together while Tenebris got the double bed in the adjacent room. Toriel stated that she was fine sleeping on the reclining chair in the living room.

After Tenebris recovered from his crying fit and his bout with the point of his continued existence, he found her there still away and reading. "Hello, my child. Up already?"

He slowly nodded, the burning in his left eye still harsh to the point of almost breaking his straight face. "Mrs. Toriel. I... I know you said you were going to take care of us... but how... how do I get home... how do I get out of the ruins?"

She sat there in a stunned silence for a bit before blinking slowly. "... There's something I need to do. Please wait here." She quickly got up and went downstairs. She had been insistent about not letting any of them near the stairs at all and the humans figured it was for good reason. Now Tenebris was suspicious and followed her down the stairs.

When he caught up with her, she seemed to notice. "You wish to know how to return "home," do you not? Well... ahead lies the one-way exit of the ruins and into the rest of the underground." She paused for a second. "I'm going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good boy and go back upstairs."

She took off again before Tenebris could even respond. He bit down his resentment and continued to follow her, much to her chagrin when he caught up. "Look Toriel, it's about-"

"Every human that falls down here... meets the same fate." This caught him off guard and what he was going to say got stuck in his throat. "I've seen it... so many times. They come... They leave... they... die... you naive teenager. If you leave this place, Asgore will kill you. I'm only trying to protect you by doing this... just go to your room." She takes off again.

Tenebris was suddenly not too keen about leaving now, but the back of his mind kept telling him that even if he dies, nothing will change anyways. It was either attempt to leave the Underground and find a memento of his parents or spend his entire existence suffering from reignited depression that'll only get worse. He needed something to assure his demons that he did not simply "replace" his parents. He steeled what little resolve he was able to muster and continued to follow her, opting to try and reason with her when they reached the end.

When he approached Toriel again she sighed. "Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning." She walks off again and he followed her to the door of the ruins. "So... you want to leave that badly?"

Tenebris found his voice. "Look, Toriel, I greatly appreciate the fact that you were willing to take all three of us in on such short notice, even going so far as to adopt all of us. But... I need to go back. To, at the very least, obtain a memento of my parents to bring back, otherwise I'll never find peace here."

She turned around with a surprised look on her face. "You... intend on returning?"

He nods. "I do. I just... it's nothing against you, Mrs. Toriel, but my conscious won't be able to handle living down here without some form of release. All I ask... please let me go. I... I don't intend to drag the sisters into this."

She lets out a sigh before giving him a reluctant look. "Even with that... You're just like the rest. I understand that this is important to you, but I need to make one thing certain." She closes her eyes before giving him a determined look. "Prove to me you're strong enough to survive."

Tenebris recoiled when the room grew dark, just like his encounter with Flowey. Toriel turned completely monotone including her clothes. He winced once again as his soul emerged once again and the burning in his eye intensified again. "W-wait, I don't w-want to fight you!"

Toriel hesitated for a second, taken aback by the color of his soul and how it was... twitching. She recomposed herself and summoned up her flames. "This is the only way you can prove yourself to me. Now fight or flee!"

He did nothing, not wanting to hurt the one who was so kind to him and his friends, even seriously considering to flee like she said. Toriel noticed his reluctance and decided to throw a few fireballs to make him make up his mind. He caught on and dodged them, but his eye was distracting him immensely.

It continued like that for a bit, with Toriel attacking after a period of inaction from Tenebris. She began to get worried when he started showing inconsistencies; his soul was jerking around more than it was floating and he started clutching his eye patch. "What are you doing? Attack or run away!" This caught him off guard and one of her fireballs hit his soul, causing him to cry out in pain and said soul started twitching erratically.

It was almost like he was struggling to maintain control. Toriel wanted to start holding back even more, but gasped as she noticed one of her fireballs heading right for him. Tenebris noticed the attack and tried to move, but was too late. It collided with his eye.

In a fit of extreme agony, he ripped off his eye patch and Toriel froze when she saw what was underneath. The moment the attack hit the eye and the eye patch came off, it started spewing a lot of dark mist from the corner of his eye and there was a bright purple glow coming from it, light practically shooting out of it. The dark mist wrapped around the struggling boy as he cried out in agony. " _T-Toriel. R-run, s-save yourself! H-hurry, before I... before I kill you!_ "

Toriel stood stunned for a few moments longer, watching in shock as his soul cracked and started leaking a dark liquid, the mist pouring from his eye intensifying. She snapped out of it when tall, shadowy spikes started popping in and out of the floor, walls, and ceiling and rushed towards him. He recoiled when he saw her rapidly approaching. " _N-no, don't! I'm not worth it, just-!_ "

She managed to embrace him, noticing that he was starting to cry. "My child, please calm down. I'm not going to leave you like this. Not now, never."

When she started touching him, she immediately saw the heart of the problem. Tenebris had somehow managed to develop his own magic, shadow magic no less, and it was currently out of control, like it was recently and forcefully used. Using her own magic, she was able to start calming his magic down while whispering comforting words in his ear.

Tenebris began to calm down from her hug and words, crying softly. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. It's not your fault, my child."

It stayed like that until Toriel was able to completely stabilize Tenebris' magic, partially amazed that said magic hadn't actually corrupted him. But she was disappointed in herself; under all of the bad jokes and the lovable, nonchalant attitude, he was suffering. Despite having friends, despite having her as a potential foster mother...

He was suffering all alone and she hated herself for not noticing sooner. _I'm no better than Asgore..._

Toriel looked back at Tenebris with a worried look. Now that his magic was as stabilized as she could get it, the dark mist coming out of his left eye was greatly lessened, but still there. The sclera of the eye was pitch-black and the iris was completely purple with a slight glow.

"But... why?" Toriel gives him a confused look. "Why didn't you get away? I could of... I could of..." He started crying again.

She pats him on the head. "I knew you wouldn't. I couldn't just leave you here to suffer like that. Nobody deserves to suffer like that."

"But... but I'm... not worth it..."

She gives him a look, noticing that the tears coming out of his left eye were dark purple as well. "Don't say that. Nobody is worthless, especially not you, Tenebris. Would the sisters upstairs care about you so much if you were worthless?" He merely responded with a sob. "Please don't think like that about yourself, okay? You're a good person and you should be proud of it."

"T...thank you... m-mom..." Toriel's heart fluttered and sunk at the same time.

They stayed like that for a bit longer until Tenebris pulled away with a soft smile, looking far less pained than when he first woke up. "Are you alright now, my child?"

"Y-yeah..." He walked over to pick up his eye patch, intending on putting it back on.

Toriel caught on and put her hand on his. "Tell me, do you intend on hiding your eye from everyone else?" When he nodded sadly she asked, "Why?"

"Won't... everyone just see me as a freak?"

She sighs. "Tell me: do you think the sisters will think any less of you if you showed, and told, them about your secret?" When he didn't respond she sighed. "Tenebris, let them in. You shouldn't have to suffer alone on this. I know for a fact that those two care for you more than you may know. Frisk wouldn't call you by her nickname for you if she didn't and Selendis wouldn't put up with your bad jokes." Despite the fact that there was nobody else around, she whispers, "I think she actually enjoys them. She just has her own way of reacting to them."

This got a small but pure laugh out of Tenebris. "I guess. Then... should I?"

"Wait till they wake up. They would probably react best if they got good sleep beforehand."

He thought of something. "What about my attempt to leave? are you still going to-"

"I've thought about that and I've decided that you are indeed strong enough to leave; your magic power is proof of this. However, I'll let you go on the conditions that you let your friends know about your secret and you let me teach you the bare basics of magic manipulation." When Toriel saw Tenebris' confused look, she elaborated, "your magic was out of control from being forced, hence why I wish to teach you the basics. I'm no master of manipulating magic through an eye, but I can teach you enough so that you can keep your magic regulated and under control."

"Alright... when do we..?"

"Let's get some rest first. No use explaining and learning without sleep." Tenebris nodded and headed back upstairs with Toriel, hoping he wouldn't have nightmares again.


	6. Chapter 6: Lab Rat

Tenebris had a fitful sleep after his confrontation with Toriel. Despite her calming the magic inside of him down and easing some of his fears, his demons continued to haunt him in his dreams. That, plus the anxiety of having to reveal to Frisk and Selendis his secret, something he has lied to them about the entire time he knew them, kept giving him minor panic attacks; he was not proud of how he got his magic and that will most likely something they will ask.

He didn't want to lie to them again like this, not when he almost murdered their foster mother when said magic went out of control, but he continued to fear that they would turn their backs on him.

When the sisters got up, they were confused by the fact that Tenebris wasn't up yet. They knew him as a light sleeper, so him sleeping in was an oddity. Toriel was in the kitchen making breakfast when Selendis approached her. "Um, Toriel? Why isn't Tenebris up yet?"

Toriel sighed as she continued cooking. "Something... happened last night and it took a lot out of him." When she got two confused looks she shook her head. "You would be better off hearing it from Tenebris himself. First, I must ask a question. Depending on the situation, would your opinion of him change at all?"

Both sisters looked confused but Frisk spoke up first. "That's an odd question, but do you need to ask? As long as Tenebris is still Tenebris, I don't care; he's a great friend and I wouldn't give up on him regardless." There was a lot of determination in her voice and Toriel chuckled under her breath. There's Frisk's serious side and she already knew it, despite only knowing her for a short amount of time.

Selendis nodded. "Unless he did something abhorrently stupid, I have to agree with Frisk. He's a... um, great friend and I wouldn't give him up for the world."

This time Toriel noticed her hesitation in calling him a "great friend," and was tempted to tease her, but decided to leave it alone. "Alright, that's all I needed to know. Breakfast is done, so start eating while I go fetch him." The sisters shrug at each other as she left, wondering why Toriel asked such a question, before they started eating. When she came back, she had a bit of a somber look on her face. "He had a rougher night than I thought, but he said she's fine. All I ask is... don't judge him too harshly.

The sisters didn't get time to ponder this when Tenebris started approaching from his bedroom with one eye closed. They both instantly noticed that his eye patch was gone and when he reached the table, he opened the previously blocked eye. They gasped as they beheld the black and purple eye and he looked away. "Well... I'm waiting for a negative response..."

Toriel was about to berate him when Frisk rushed over and hugged him. "Are you kidding? That looks so cool on you! I'm disappointed you didn't show me sooner." Based on the surprised look he had, he clearly didn't expect that reaction.

Selendis merely shook her head. "If that's it, then I'm not sure why you wanted to hide it from us specifically. Would we think any different of you? Heavens no."

"B-but I can use shadow magic with this eye. How can-"

Frisk cut him off. "AND you can use magic? Awesome!"

Toriel giggled. "Of course, his magic went out of control last night, hence the rough night. I was able to stabilize it before any real damage could be done, so there's no worry of that." Tenebris nodded in her direction, thankful she omitted their scuffle last night.

Selendis put a hand up to her chin. "I suppose you would think people would consider you a freak, hence why you never used magic before and why you had your eye covered up. My question is: did something happen to allow you to access it? Last I checked, humans don't have any access to magic at all."

He flinched at the question, the one he's been dreading the entire time. "It's... another thing I've never told either of you and a very painful memory. Make yourselves comfortable; I don't want to lie to you two about this anymore."

All of the girls took their seats at the table, though not before Toriel gave him his breakfast. Noticing they were ready, he let in a shuddering breath. "Y-you know how I said I wasn't around when my parents died in an accident?"

Selendis nodded. "You said you were gone somewhere at the time."

"That... was only a half-truth. The thing is... I was kidnapped half a year prior to my parents dying..." Toriel gasped and Selendis shot a worried look at him. "Thing is, that wasn't any normal kidnapping. Turns out that they kidnapped me... for a science experiment.

"The goal of their project was to try and infuse a human with magic in such a way that they could use it flawlessly. Of course, from what I've heard, many humans before me, mostly older people with criminal records that nobody would care about, had become failed experiments. Their bodies and souls kept rejecting the magic and all of them had died before they could begin stage two of the infusion."

Toriel held up a hand to stop him. "You went out of your way to mention that their souls also couldn't handle the magic. Does that mean..?"

Tenebris nodded. "That facility was researching the human soul as well as magic. From what I was told, it was a top-secret project; even the government doesn't know of it's existence. Thing is... the head scientist... was mad. When I survived through the initial infusion, she treated my soul like a surgical playground."

Now Selendis started looking horrified while Frisk had an... unintelligible look. "She ordered all of the scientists to start infusing me with many different kinds of magic in the other stages of the process. All of them were... very painful. I knew what it was like to have your soul attacked before coming down here; you never get used to it.

"Half-way through my stay there, my magic ran out of control for the first time. It was mild, thankfully, but the head scientist blamed it on not enough magic infusions for stability and doubled the amount of infusions I would receive a day. The other scientists were starting to question why she was doing this, many begging her to stop being so cruel with the infusions. Of course she silenced them all with the threat of termination... and I don't think it simply meant firing them." All three of his listeners blanched. "In fact, the double infusions were the reason why my eye turned into what it is; they were infusing my soul directly through my left eye and eventually... this happened."

"Where they infusing you with shadow magic or non-elemental magic?" Toriel was curious if Tenebris' shadow magic was a result of too much magic.

"Shadow magic, judging by the dark purple energy they kept injecting my soul with. Thing is, as time went on, the infusions got more painful and my periods of lost control longer and harsher. Unlike you, Toriel, they didn't try to calm the magic down. They forced it to stop running rampant through means I am not privy to."

Frisk spoke up with a shaky voice, "S-so how did you escape?"

"Turns out that the scientists who objected to the harsh infusions had enough and broke me out themselves while seeking to make the head of the lab pay for what she's done. They had to wait until my soul had enough infusions of shadow magic to make it's rampancy come full circle and to ensure that the infusion process was complete. They didn't want me to die because of incomplete procedures."

He sighed. "The rest, Frisk and Selendis know about already. When I finally reached home, I was hit with the news that my parents had died on my birthday. I've become a social introvert ever since."

He waited in silence for a short while until his foster mother hugged him. "I didn't know the extent of your pain ran so deep, my child."

Tenebris smiles at the two sisters. "It's actually thanks to you two I've made it this far."

Both of them gave him a surprised look before hugging him after Toriel was done. "I-I'm just glad we could be there for someone." Frisk croaked out.

Selendis shook her head. "To think... behind all of those bad jokes, you hid such painful memories. But... just know, we're here for you now, no matter what."

"... Thank you... both of you." He broke the hug and gave them a guilty smile. "However, I must confess; I need to go back to the surface."

Frisk looked shocked. "Why? I thought you were fine living down here."

"Thing is, there are some demons in my mind that nobody can help me fight. The reason why I'm going back up is to get a memento of my parents so that the back of my mind isn't convinced I simply forgot about them. Toriel gave me permission to leave last night... if it was night."

Toriel nodded. "Yes. The rest of the Underground can be dangerous, but I believe his strong magic will keep him safe. He will leave once I've taught him the basics of magic manipulation, as he has had no training in such matters, hence why his magic goes out of control. He will leave after he learns enough to keep it under control."

Tenebris nodded but jumped when Frisk piped up, "Then we're going with you!"

Selendis nodded. "We might not be much help, but I'd rather travel with you than worry myself sick by staying put." Shooting Toriel an apologetic look she adds, "I'm sorry, but even if I wanted to stay, Frisk probably wouldn't take no for an answer and I don't want to worry about two people."

Toriel let out a sigh. "Perhaps you would be safer in a group. Very well, as soon as Tenebris completes his basic training, you can all go."


	7. Chapter 7 - The Skeleton Fonting

I know my chapters are getting longer, but I'm getting more and more into writing this story. Let me know if my chapters should stay short, or if the current pattern is fine. Also, let me know if I ever write the characters OOC. I do read reviews, I'm just not certain about how to reply to them without inflating my review numbers.

For those wondering, I WILL be covering all three routes and the neutral/true pacifist endings being close to the original story, so potential spoilers for that. There WILL be times when I make original moments in my story, but this is just a (late) warning.

/

Tenebris learned the basics of magic control very easily; he had what looked like a bottomless magic reserve from never using it, so he was able to keep up with Toriel's lessons. Now, not only can he regulate his magic efficiently, but what Toriel could teach him allowed him to summon shadowy bolts and create bee-hive barriers around his friends and himself.

He mentally snorts at how he arrived at using lots of smaller, individual hexagons over a single shield piece. Not only was it easier to create, but it also had far more overall strength than just a large, single piece.

Both Selendis and Frisk were pretty amazed at what he could do with his magic. Every time he begins using magic, his left eye starts glowing brighter and the shadowy mist starts leaking out of the corner of said eye. Both sisters conceded that it can be intimidating like that, but decided that he would be better off like that; no sense wasting energy on keeping visual appearances up.

When Toriel taught Tenebris all she could, they prepared for the journey through the Underground. Frisk had picked up a toy knife in the ruins a few days earlier, but opted to give it to Selendis since she would have more skill using it, opting to carry the stick she brought into the underground. She was also wearing a ribbon, which almost made Tenebris gush over how cute she looked.

Speaking of him, he had considered wearing his eye patch again, but everyone else convinced him that his glowing eye will allow him to be more easily passed off as a monster. This is largely because it's been a long time since humans have fell underground and many monsters might not recognize them as such.

Toriel gave them all a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie as a parting gift and gave all three humans a good-bye hug, stating that once they leave, they can't return through that entrance. Understanding that, all three humans steeled their resolve and continued through the door Toriel had once considered destroying.

The thoughts of the journey ahead of them filled them all with DETERMINATION.

... At least until they stumbled across Flowey, who looked more irritated than anything. "Clever, reeeeeal clever. You three think you're really smart, don't you?"

Tenebris gave him a dark glare. "Oh, it's you."

Selendis brought her plastic knife in front of her. "Don't think we'll fall for the same tricks twice!"

"Don't worry, I'm not here for anything like that. But I reiterate; down here, it's kill or be killed."

Frisk shook her head. "We've proven you wrong many times already, Flowey."

"Because you were able to play by your own rules. Even with that magic freak-accident, you didn't kill a single person."

Tenebris was taken aback before summoning a shadow bolt. "You asked before how long it would be before I lost control. How much do you know?"

Flowey grinned. "I know enough. And I bet you all feel really great: none of you killed a single person in the ruins."

This got a scoff from Selendis. "You think we're just going to do what YOU say? How-"

"But what will happen if you meet a relentless killer like myself, one who isn't so easily dissuaded? You'll die, you'll die, and you'll die until you tire of trying."

Frisk shuddered, but this went ignored by the older humans. Selendis gave Flowey a flat look. "I'm pretty sure you can only die once. I'm not sure about what you're talking about."

Flowey showed his demonic grin. "But of course you don't. Only one of you will know what I'm talking about. But my question is this: if such a thing happens, will you kill out of frustration?" This made all three humans falter a bit. "Ah hah! So such thoughts HAVE crossed your minds. But this is next question is for one of you: or will you give up entirely on this world and let ME inherit the power to control it."

Tenebris flung a shadow bolt to strike the ground before the flower. "Stop speaking so cryptically. "The power to control this world?" What kind of bull is that?"

Flowey chuckles darkly. "Maybe you'll find out, maybe you won't. All I will say is that this is so much more interesting." One demonic laugh later and he disappears underground.

"Tch, maybe I should of blasted him..." Tenebris dissipated the unused bolts.

"Don't fall for his taunting, that's exactly what he wants." Selendis looked past where Flowey was. "Whether or not he was using reverse psychology to challenge us to not kill anything, I accept that challenge. Besides, Killing anything down here will leave a horrible taste in my mouth."

Frisk let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't pin down why, but she was glad her sister and friend were going to try and be pacifists going through the Underground, even if Tenebris had what is supposedly a dangerous power. At the same time, she felt guilty. She knew Flowey was referring to her ability to SAVE and LOAD, possibly even to her ability to RESET, through her DETERMINATION and it was leaving her companions in the dark.

Tenebris shook his head, snapping Frisk's attention back to him. "No point mulling over it; the surface isn't getting any closer." Going forward, he opened the door that was behind Flowey and all of them were blinded by light.

Next thing they knew, the were on the other side... and freezing cold. Frisk had a heavy sweater so she was fine but Selendis wasn't as well dressed. "G-g-geeze, w-would it o-of killed T-Toriel to w-warn us a-about this?" She noticed that Tenebris wasn't shivering, despite being dressed as well as her. "Why aren't you shivering?"

He shrugs as he starts digging into his backpack. "Perhaps its my attunement to darkness, but I'm not quite as cold. I can still feel it, don't get me wrong, but perhaps it doesn't bother me as much." Dragging his coat out of the backpack, he hands it to her. "Not sure how warm you'll be with this, but it's better than nothing."

"T-true..." She puts the coat on hastily.

Frisk looked around, feeling as though they were being watched. "I... think we should keep moving. Something doesn't... feel right."

Now warmer because of the coat, Selendis nods. "We should keep moving. The longer we stay in one place, the more vulnerable we are."

* * *

A shadowy figure with a glowing blue eye watched the trio as they began to move away from the ruins door. "Yet another anomaly this time around. Like last time, she seems to have forgotten everything. Welp, I can't blame her; I have a lot of holes in my memory myself, so let's just go through the motions again.

"I just hope the newcomer isn't volatile or dangerous."

* * *

As the humans moved along, the large stick they passed over suddenly snapped, causing them all to jump. When they heard foot-falls behind them, yet nobody was there, they started proceeding more cautiously.

It wasn't until they reached what looked like a barricade when the foot-steps appeared again, this time much louder and right behind them. Despite two of them wielding make-shift weapons and one capable of using magic, they all froze in fear. They stayed like that when the foot-steps stopped right behind them.

 **"Humans. Don't any of you know how to greet a new pal? One of you, turn around and shake my hand."**

Tenebris opted to take the fall, slowly turning to see a shadowed figure holding it's hand out. He slowly extended his hand and-

 **PHHHHHHHHHH** HHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwhooooooooooffffff.

Tenebris let out a cough while Selendis and Frisk slowly started laughing. The shadowed figure, now suddenly revealed as a skeleton with a perpetual grin and wearing a blue jacket, snorted. "heheh, the ol' whoopee-cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny." Tenebris started cough-laughing when he finally recovered from the scare. The skeleton shook his head in amusement. "anyways, you're humans, right? that's hilarious."

Selendis looked around nervously. "Um... humans? What humans?"

"come on, don't lie to me. i could write off mr black eye here with enough suspension of disbelief, but you two? not a chance." Tenebris winced when he said that, but didn't comment. "anyways, i'm sans, sans the skeleton."

Frisk smiled. "You don't seem like a bad monster. I'm Frisk, the girl is my older sister, Selendis, and he's Tenebris."

Sans smiled a bit more; now he knew the name of the most recent anomaly. The fact that Tenebris' left eye looked and acted strikingly similar to his left eye when activated piqued his curiosity, but he decided to leave it for now. "i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now, but... y'know... i don't really care about capturing anyone." This got sighs of relief from the humans and he smiled a bit wider. "now, my brother, papyrus... he's a human-hunting FANATIC."

Tenebris rubbed his hands together nervously. "Yeah... I know he's your brother and all, but couldn't you just... not say anything to him about us?"

"sorry, kid, but i think that's him over there." The two girls panicked and Tenebris' eye flared up, suddenly emitting a dark mist again. Sans, oddly, recognized it as panicking as well and shook his head. "don't worry, i have an idea. go through this gate-thingy." The humans gave it flat looks and he rolled his eyes. "yeah, he made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

All four of them walked across the bridge, only for Selendis to whisper loudly, "In the direction of your brother?"

"yeah, trust me on this. frisk should hide behind that conveniently shaped lamp." Frisk did so while Sans looked at the older humans. "hmm... guess behind my station will have to do for you two. sorry for any mess you might find." Selendis and Tenebris shrugged at each other before diving behind the station that had condiments behind it. Just in time as a taller skeleton appeared on the scene, one Sans acknowledged. "sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S "SUP," BROTHER!" Tenebris and Selendis winced at how loud the newcomer, supposedly Papyrus, was. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU HAVEN'T...

"RECALIBRATED.

"YOUR.

"PUZZLES!"

"Oh, I get it now." Tenebris whispered, which made Selendis look at him oddly. "They're named after font types!"

"How so?"

"The Papyrus font is criticized for making things seem more meaningful and important than it actually is, hence the loud voice. Sans, or rather, Comic Sans... oh jeeze I just got that!" Selendis facepalms while Papyrus suddenly sneezes. "Anyways, Comic Sans is criticized because businesses use it to try and appear friendly, but end up looking lazy."

"EXCUSE ME. ANYWAYS, YOU JUST HANG AROUND YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"staring at this lamp and my station. they're really cool. wanna look?" Sans let out a small shudder at feeling two glares directed at him.

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!"

Selendis and Tenebris shot each other and Frisk worried looks. Papyrus seemed serious about this. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL GET ALL OF THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT... RECOGNITION... I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY... "FRIEND?"

"I guess he's feeling 'bonely!'" That got Tenebris a smack on the shoulder from Selendis and Frisk giggled a bit.

"HOLD ON, SANS, DID YOU MAKE ANOTHER PUN?!" The older humans started holding their breath.

Sans shrugged. "no? must be hearing things, bro."

"REALLY? I COULD OF SWORN I FELT A BAD PUN BEING MADE IN MY PRESENCE..."

Sans looked to the other side a bit. "hmm... anyways, maybe this lamp will help you." He once again felt like he was being glared at, which made him only shrug in response.

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING, YOU LAZY BONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE!"

"I think I know what boondoggle means, which reinforces the whole font type naming scheme." Tenebris though for a second.

Selendis immediately saw the look on his face and glared at him. "Don't..."

"Not this time, Papyrus might find us then." Selendis silently thanked Papyrus for being there, if only to prevent more bad puns.

Papyrus continued speaking, "YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

Sans chuckled. "hey, take it easy. i've gotten a 'ton' of work done today."

Selendis saw the look on Sans' face. "No..."

"... a 'skele-ton.'"

He winks, seemingly at the hidden humans, while a rimshot was heard. Tenebris and Frisk were trying hard not to laugh and Selendis was trying not to groan loudly. Her reaction was partially mirrored by Papyrus. "SANS!"

"come on, you're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus lets out a sigh. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION?"

Sans grins wider again. "wow, sounds like you're really working yourself... down to the bone." Another rimshot was heard.

Selendis covered her face. "Oh, god... what did I do to deserve this?"

Tenebris nudged her playfully. "Hey, you hate on bad jokes, you get hit with them a lot."

Papyrus groaned loudly. " I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE... 'BACKBONE' INTO IT!" No rimshot this time, but Papyrus laughs for a bit before leaving, though he came back for one more "HEH!"

Sans chuckled before looking back at the hiding spots. "ok, you can come out now." Both Frisk and Tenebris practically fell out of their hiding spots, laughing. Selendis merely got up with an unamused look. Sans chuckled a bit more. "at least i had a great audience."

Tenebris could barely breath. "Oh... oh my god! I can tell we're going to get along just fine! You're a real 'Comic,' Sans."

Sans snorted in laughter. "I know I am."

Tenebris managed to calm down. "Okay, you're good, but you know when Papyrus said boondoggle?" Sans nodded, wondering where he was going with this. "Didn't he mean 'bone'doggle?"

Sans snorted again before laughing with Frisk. Selendis had an indignant look on her face, though there was a smile tugging at her features. "Y-you know, we really should get going."

Sans coughed a few times. "yeah, he might come back. and if he does, you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes."

Frisk giggled a bit more. "I wouldn't mind that. Selendis might, though."

"No duh?"

Sans chuckled again at her slight shortness. There was a slight hesitation and he decided to 'get' them, especially Frisk since she doesn't remember anything. "what's the holdup? look there's nothing to be afraid of." The humans looked at him curiously. "it;s just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters.

Frisk shivered and Tenebris deadpanned. "I know you're all for jokes, but that's crossing the line a little too much for my liking." All he got was a shrug.

Selendis shook her head. "Regardless, we must press on. No sense waiting around here." Frisk nodded and all three humans started to continue forward.

"actually." They turn back to Sans. 'hate to bother you when you're in a hurry, but can you do me a favor? i was thinking... my brother's been kind of down lately..." Selendis immediately realized that, despite annoying his brother with bad jokes, he really does care about him. She could relate to him. "he's never seen a human before and seeing not just one or two, but three humans might just make his day."

Frisk gave him a worried look. "Isn't he trying to capture us, though?"

"don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be." All three mulled over it before nodding. They did owe Sans for helping them and they, admittedly, felt bad for Papyrus. Seeing them nod, Sans smiled wider and, with genuine gratitude in his voice, he said, "thanks a million. i'll be up ahread."

What confused the three was the fact that he started walking back towards the ruins. They shrugged it off.

The feeling of already having someone they could call a friend filled them all with DETERMINATION.

* * *

Sans let out a soft sigh as he walked away from the humans. Despite Tenebris' initial appearance, his genuine love of bad jokes already won him over. Despite even that, he was worried about their eventual battle with Papyrus. He could feel the dark magic flowing from Tenebris' eye and he has yet to see his soul.

"y'know... maybe i'm agonizing over this too much. hopefully frisk is at her most passive this run and it'll rub off on the other two, but why do i get the feeling things will change more than when it was just selendis?"

What, truthfully, worried him the most was the fact that Frisk's memories seem to have been wiped again and his own being full of holes. There are some details he can still partially remember, like Selendis being the first anomaly since Frisk was initially alone, but other than things like that and his knowledge of Frisk's ability to SAVE, LOAD, and RESET, he knew little.

The only thing he remembers from before was him saying, "it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming. on days like this, kids like you. **Should be burning in hell.** "


	8. Chapter 8 : Snowy Paths

The very first thing the trio of humans stumbled upon after separating from Sans is a box sitting at a juncture. The sign read that it was for anyone to use, so Tenebris opened it up, expecting to put his slice of pie inside. What he didn't expect was a pair of tough-looking gloves already inside. "Does this box only show specific contents for specific people, or can anyone access anyone's stuff?"

Selendis looked inside of the box and saw why he asked the question. "To be fair, I don't think so. If that was the case and the nearby monsters use this, the box would be a lot fuller."

"True. That doesn't explain why we have a random pair of gloves in mine, but I suppose I can't argue with a freebie. Did you want to wear it, Selendis?"

Selendis looked at her hands. Her body was warm enough thanks to Tenebris' coat, but her hands were still cold. "Yeah, perhaps I could use them for additional warmth. Frisk, how are your hands?" She turned to her sister, who was busy breathing into her hands to warm them up. "Guess that answers my question."

Tenebris shook his head before tossing the gloves at Frisk, who caught them in a panic. "Wear 'em, kid. Even with a heavy sweater on, I doubt you're completely warm and we need to conserve as much energy as possible. Besides, Selendis can always put her hands into her pockets to warm them up."

"W-what about you, Tenny? I know you said the cold doesn't seem to bother you as much, but I can see your arms slowly turning red."

Tenebris let out a sigh. "Suppose there's a difference between the cold not bothering me and actually being resistant to cold. Don't worry, we'll figure something out. Maybe Sans could help us if push comes to shove." Frisk gave him an apprehensive look, but didn't argue.

After getting their items squared away, they proceeded in the direction they were heading, only to run into what looked like a cross between a bird, dragon, and a snowflake.

*Snowdrake flutters forth!

Tenebris shook his head. How did he know this monster's name?

The area darkened again and everybody's souls emerged from their bodies. Frisk gave Tenebris' dark-purple soul a surprised look; it occasionally pulsed a dark aura. Tenebris managed to see what color Frisk's soul was: a bright red. He didn't know what any of the soul colors meant, so he left it alone.

Snowdrake suddenly spoke up, "An avalanche is 'snow' place to be!"

Tenebris deadpanned while dodging the monster's magic attack. "Snow kidding?"

"Oh come on, it was a 'cool' joke!"

"Please excuse me, I'm kinda 'frosty' with ice puns right now." Frisk AND Selendis started laughing; not at the puns themselves, but from the deadpan voices Tenebris and Snowdrake had as they quipped at each other while all three humans dodged magic attacks. Frisk accidentally hit one, but most of the damage was mitigated by Tenebris' shadow barrier enchantment he managed to cast up earlier, something she was immensely thankful for; getting hit in the soul never ceased being painful.

Snowdrake noticed the two girls laughing and beamed. "See? laughs! Dad was wrong!"

After sparing him and sending him on his way, Frisk found some gold coins laying on the ground where Snowdrake was. Then Selendis noticed after she started scooping them into her bag. "Frisk, isn't that stealing?"

"Don't worry. It seems to be something monsters like doing for those who spare them."

Tenebris shrugged. "If only it was always that easy to get money..."

they quickly found Papyrus and... Sans? Selendis shook her head. "How did that even happen? He went in the opposite direction of us."

Frisk shrugged. "Magic?"

Tenebris sighed. "God knows how much magic exists down here. Let's just hope Papyrus is as harmless as Sans made him out to be." They got closer to the skeleton brothers.

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE..." Papyrus noticed the humans and started... looking between them and Sans, with Sans doing the same thing, until they both spun in place. Frisk and Selendis let out small groans; neither of them liked spinning that much.

When the skeletons stopped spinning they turned their backs as Papyrus said, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT... A BUNCH OF HUMANS!?"

Sans grinned wider. "actually, i think those are rocks."

The humans noticed they were looking past them and turn to see three rocks behind them. This made all three of them snort in laughter, especially when Papyrus bought it by saying, "OH..."

"hey, what's in front of those rocks?"

Papyrus looks directly at the trio. "OH MY GOD!" Leaning in to whisper to Sans, yet somehow still being loud, he asks, "IS... ARE THOSE HUMANS?"

"yes."

"OH MY GOD! SANS, I FINALLY DID IT!"

Tenebris chuckled. "I guess we're off to a 'rocky' start!" There was a loud smack as Selendis facepalmed and Frisk started giggling.

"SANS WHO IS THIS HUMAN AND WHY DOES HE TALK LIKE YOU?!" Sans was too busy laughing his head off to respond. "SANS!"

"oh, oh my god. why did i never think of that?"

Papyrus grunted in annoyance, but gained a curious look on his face. Leaning back to his brother and actually whispering, he said, "NOW THAT I LOOK AT HIM, HIS EYE LOOKS STRIKINGLY SIMILAR TO YOURS WHEN ACTIVATED..."

"i... i would think too deeply into it, pap." Sans was still recovering from his laughing fit.

"ANYWAYS! HUMANS, YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU!"

Frisk looked at him curiously. "Just stop us?"

"I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU!" He elaborated.

"Oh..."

"YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... THEN... I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT."

Tenebris whispered to Selendis, "We get delivered to the capital and, more than likely, get killed?"

"Too early for assumptions, but if Asgore is as ruthless as Toriel made him out to be, then it's a possibility."

Papyrus waited until they were done whispering to each other. "IN ANY CASE, CONTINUE... ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Sans shrugged at the humans. "well, that went well." noticing the worried looks he added, "don't sweat it, i'll keep an eyesocket out for ya." Selendis rolled her eyes, Tenebris shrugged, and Frisk gave a thumbs up before he left.

All three trudged on through the snow, passing a make-shift sentry station that they knew was built by Papyrus. When they came across a sign, Selendis stopped to read it. It read: Absolutely NO MOVING!

"Well this doesn't make any sense..."

Tenebris noticed the sign and read it as well. "No moving? Well then how else are we going to move forward?"

"I thought it was my job to be sarcastic, Tenebris..."

Frisk shook her head as Tenebris quipped, "Doesn't mean I can't be sarcastic. At any rate, let's just keep going."

"Did something move? Was it my Imagination?" All three froze when they heard a voice. They looked into the sentry station and saw a black and white dog poking his head out, looking around. "I can only see moving things."

Selendis resisted facepalming. _So that's the reason behind the sign. This sentry has reverse-motion blindness_.

The dog continued, "If something WAS moving... for example, a human... I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!" He jumped out of the station and the area grew dark again.

*Doggo blocks the way!

Tenebris shook his head again. This is the second time he knew someone's name without even having met them before. Both Selendis and Frisk shared the same situation, but both of them decided to not question it; it made things a bit easier.

Doggo suddenly growled. " _Don't move an inch!_ " One of his white daggers turned a cyan color and he swung it at them. Despite all of their instincts telling them they should dodge it, they all stayed still.

The knife passed through all of them harmlessly, baffling them. After Doggo returned to his default position, Frisk reached out and pet him, causing him to freak out. "WHAT! I'VE BEEN PET!"

He started spewing randoms words as he swiped with his cyan knife again. After he stopped attacking, the humans spared him. "S-s-s-something pet me, something that isn't m-m-moving... I'm gonna need some dog treats for this!" He sunk back into his station.

The humans took that as their cue to quickly move along. When they got a safe distance, Frisk looked at her sister curiously. "Did he get a case of the munchies or something?"

Selendis shrugged. "Maybe. I just hope he doesn't come running after us." Tenebris started whistling nonchalantly. He saw what looked like dog treats, yet they were smoked rather than eaten. _I'm just going to assume that dog treats are like drugs to dog monsters and not say anything..._

They found Sans standing next to a patch of ice. "hey, before i forget, here's something important for all of you to remember. my brother has a very **special attack**. if you see a **blue attack** , don't move and it won't hurt you."

Tenebris sighed. "Sans, I know you love your brother and you want to play him up as an awesome fighter... but we've already seen an attack like that."

"uh, whoops, forgot doggo had it as well. well, my point still stands since hardly any enemies use blue attacks like that here in snowdin."

Selendis gave him a curious look. "Is that what this area is called? Kinda unimaginative if you ask me."

"if you're thinking i named the area, you're wrong. you'll find out who named it later." He winks at the humans, who simply shrugged and moved on.

They had an encounter with a dog monster simply named "Lesser Dog" and quickly found out just how long his neck could stretch. Selendis couldn't stop petting it, which dumbfounded Tenebris. "Stop petting the dog!"

"I can't help it! He yearns for affection and I have so much to give to a puppy like him!"

Frisk was too busy laughing at the whole ordeal to even try and help. After the Lesser Dog was spared, Frisk managed to get Tenebris out of whispering range of Selendis, who was busy collecting the coins the dog scattered. "Were you jealous of that dog?"

He gives her an odd look. "Uh, n-no. Why?"

"Because the way you told her to stop petting the dog made it seem like you wanted to be the one petted."

He made a bunch of random and embarrassed noises, with his face turning bright red. "S-shush you! I'm telling you now that's not the case!"

Frisk gave him an unconvinced look, but left it alone. Neither of the older humans knew it, but Frisk knew Tenebris had a small crush her older sister. She may flirt innocently, but that doesn't mean she's blind to the smaller signs of romantic interest.

The area with an ice patch was a juncture and they heading left instead of straight this time. they met with a dead end, but it had a living snowman. "Hello, I'm a snowman." Frisk raised an eyebrow, as if to say "no duh" to him. "I wanna see the world, but I cannot move. If you would be so kind, travelers, please take a piece of me and take it far away."

Selendis looked at him worryingly "Wouldn't your piece melt if we carried it in our bags? Especially if we wind up in warmer places."

The snowman chuckled. "I get that a lot. Thing is, the snow I'm made out of is infused with magic so that I will never melt."

Tenebris rolled his eyes. "Because magic makes EVERYTHING better. Seriously, why did humans ever abandon magic?"

Frisk shook her head. "Probably because our souls can't retain magic as well as monster souls. You seem to be an exception, though."

"Please don't remind me..." Frisk whimpered and cuddled into his side. He smiles as he pats her on the head. "Don't worry, Frisk. Not your fault."

Selendis sighed. "At any rate, Mr. snowman, if you're fine with a piece of yourself traveling with us, then I suppose we can oblige."

The snowman looks like he could of smiled wider if he could. "Thank you and good luck!" Selendis stuck the snowman piece into her backpack. Knowing that the snowman will be able to see, or at least feel, different areas of the underground warmed the trio's hearts.

Going the other way in the juncture, they stumbled upon Papyrus and Sans who were on the other side of a patch of compacted snow. "THAT ONE HUMAN, THOUGH. FROM THE WAY HE MAKES BAD JOKES LIKE YOU 'AND' HAS A GLOWING LEFT EYE... IF I DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS A HUMAN, I WOULD OF MISTAKEN HIM AS YOUR LONG LOST TWIN BROTHER!" Neither of them noticed the arrival of the humans.

Sans shook his head. "not how it works, pap. besides, i have blue skeleton magic. his is human magic, more than likely."

"IS HUMAN MAGIC ALWAYS THAT COLOR? IT'S SO OMINOUS..." Teneberis felt his heart start sinking, only to almost fall over when Papyrus added, "I WISH I HAD DARK PURPLE MAGIC. MY CHANCES OF GETTING INTO THE ROYAL GUARD WOULD DOUBLE- NO, TRIPLE!" He looks over and sees the trio. "OH-HO, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL AND HIS COMPANIONS!"

Selendis shook her head. "Could we not talk about that subject? It's kind of a touchy subject for Tenebris." Frisk and Tenebris gave her a confused look.

"APOLOGIES, HUMAN. ALSO... THIS IS EMBARRASSING, WE NEVER PROPERLY INTRODUCED OURSELVES! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AND THIS IS MY LAZY BROTHER, SANS!"

Frisk smiled. "I'm Frisk, my older sister is Selendis, and he's Tenebris. Pleased to meet you, Papyrus."

"WOWIE, SUCH A COURTEOUS HUMAN! NOW I FEEL KINDA BAD, BECAUSE IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!" Neither Selendis or Tenebris could believe their ears. They wanted to use puzzles of all things to stop them?

Papyrus continued in spite of their looks. "I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE... QUITE SHOCKING!" He made a weird sound at the end of the sentence.

Tenebris deadpanned. "Was that supposed to be a pun? I don't see the punch-line..." Selendis giggled. She never got tired of his deadpan voice.

"I'M GETTING THERE. FOR YOU SEE... OR RATHER, AS YOU CAN'T SEE, THIS IS... THE INVISIBLE ELECTRICITY MAZE!"

Tenebris snorted. "Aaaaaand there's the punch-line. Talk about late to the party." Selendis elbowed him, since Papyrus wasn't done speaking.

"WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP!"

Frisk looked at the orb, wondering why Papyrus had the orb before asking something else. "How... strong of a zap, exactly?"

Sans shrugged. "probably enough to wake you up in the morning." The humans looked at each other.

"SOUND LIKE FUN? BECAUSE, THE AMOUNT OF FUN ANY ONE OF YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE... IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL, I THINK." Tenebris and Frisk shrugged while Selendis simply looked on. "OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW."

Frisk took a few steps forward.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT

The trio looked back across the "maze" and saw Papyrus standing there, looking charred. "SANS! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Sans simply chuckled. "i think one of the humans has to hold the orb."

Papyrus instantly recovered. "OH, OKAY." He started walking through the maze... and left foot-prints where they were supposed to walk. "COULD ON OF YOU HOLD THIS, PLEASE?"

None of the humans responded right away. Selendis was a flat 6' tall, Tenebris was 5' 8", while Frisk was currently the same height as Sans, about 4' 8" tall. Papyrus towered over all of them.

Tenebris managed to recover first and accepted the orb from Papyrus before he quickly walking back to the other side. "OKAY, TRY NOW!"

Tenebris shrugged at his friends before walking along the same path as Papyrus. He started shivering a bit, finally feeling how cold it was, but got through the maze fine, much to Papyrus' apparent surprise. "INCREDIBLE! YOU SLIPPERY-" Tenebris let out a sneeze. "-... SNAIL? HUMAN TENEBRIS, ARE YOU QUITE ALRIGHT?"

He gave them a shaky thumbs up as Selendis and Frisk joined him. "Heh... yeah, I'm just p-peachy."

Sans rolled his eye...sockets. "you don't look fine to me there, bud. you look cold."

"Heh...hehe, I-I'll manage."

"No you won't!" He jumped, not realizing Selendis was right behind him. "Here, take your coat back. I don't want you getting sick out here."

"N-no, I can stand the cold better than you. J-just keep it on!"

"But..."

Papyrus cut in. "IF IT'S JUST AN ISSUE OF WARMTH, THEN I CAN GIVE HIM ONE OF MY SPARE SCARVES!" Tenebris couldn't even react before he had an orange scarf around his neck. He felt warmer already.

Sans chuckled. "i suppose it wouldn't hurt to give you one of my spare hoodies as well. don't want you getting 'cold feet' now, eh?"

"SANS, WHEN DID YOU HAVE SPARE HOODIES?!"

"for a while, bro. in case of 'hoodie emergencies.'" Papyrus simply rolled his eyes at that.

Now wearing a scarf and a hoodie, Tenebris was feeling much better in the cold; he even looked contented. "Thank you, both of you. I'll be sure to return these when I'm done with them." Sans saw relief wash over Selendis' features and smiled wider.

"NOT A PROBLEM, TENEBRIS. YOU NEED ALL OF THE ENERGY AND WARMTH YOU CAN SAVE, FOR THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED; I KNOW I AM. NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!" He practically moon-walked out of the area.

Sans approached the humans. "my response to your thanks? it's the least i can do, since my brother's having so much fun now. that's all that's important to me." All three humans smiled at Sans. They could tell just how much Sans cared about his brother.


	9. Chapter 9 - Puzzles of Snowdin

"Don't get a tooth-ache, Frisk." Selendis said half-jokingly. The humans had stumbled across a rabbit-like monster who sold ice cream called Nice Cream, a joke which wasn't lost on Tenebris. All three humans decided to take a break to eat their respective Nice Creams and, like the guy who sold them said, it indeed warmed their hearts.

When they were finished, they got sidetracked by what looked like a pseudo-golf game where one pushes a snowball into a 'golf hole' at the end of the small course. All three humans each had one of go at it.

Tenebris did fine for the first half, but the ice on the course kept messing him up because of how he keeps sliding right across it. It frustrated him so much he shouted "God forsaken ice-physics!" in anger. Sans had a blast watching it from afar.

What was interesting was that the flag had a different color and gold payout depending on how fast you completed the game. Each flag had a unique message on them, as if telling what a soul represents if it's a specific color.

Frisk got a red flag when she tried. Red meant determination, which both of the older humans thought was fitting for Frisk; she was a very determined kid 90% of the time. The flavor text was: Try as you might, you continue to be yourself.

Selendis got a green flag the first time she tried, which meant kindness. The other two agreed with this as well, though Tenebris was of the opinion that Frisk should have some green in her soul. The flavor text was: Your care and concern for "Ball" brought you a delicious victory.

Tenebris got blue for integrity, which he couldn't confirm if it was true or not, since his soul was so saturated with shadow magic that it permanently changed the color. He recalled Selendis' soul occasionally swirling with blue and knew that she also had integrity as well. The message was: Hopping and twirling, your original style got you through.

Sans did attempt to sell some "fried snow" to them, but kept increasing the price every time Selendis accepted. The highest Sans got to before she refused? 500G.

The look she had on her face when he kept increasing the cost? Priceless.

They also found two sentry stations with a sign that listed various "smell threat levels" to keep in mind. Frisk made the assumption that whoever runs these stations rely primarily on their smell rather than their sight.

When they finally reach Papyrus again, it was in a smaller area. "HUMANS! I HOPE YOUR READY FOR... FOR..." He looks around. "SANS, WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!?"

Sans nonchalantly scratched his chin. "it's right there, on the ground." He points to a piece of paper. "trust me, there's no way they can get past this one."

Frisk picked up the paper and showed it to the other two. It was a word-search. Tenebris grinned. "looks like we got to 'search' for our way through this!"

Selendis facepalmed again while Papyrus shouted, "OH MY GOD, WHY?! SANS, NOT ONLY DID THAT NOT DO ANYTHING, BUT YOU LET TENEBRIS SLIP IN ANOTHER PUN!"

Sans managed to stop laughing. "uh, whoops. i knew i should of used today's crossword instead."

Papyrus looked offended as Frisk slipped the word search into her pocket. "WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT! IN MY OPINION, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS EASILY THE HARDEST."

"what, really dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that's for baby bones."

Papyrus sighed. "UN. BELIEVABLE. HUMANS, HELP US SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!"

Tenebris shrugged. "I always had a hard time with word scrambles. They 'scramble' my brains up!" Noticing the deadpan looks from Frisk and Selendis he asked, "What?"

Selendis shook her head. "Ignoring the pun, how can you find word scrambles hard? Crosswords have actual difficulty; word scramble is just a guessing game."

"You can argue the same thing with crosswords."

Papyrus shook his head. "SELENDIS, WHILE I SHARE YOUR RESENTMENT OF PUNS, YOU AND FRISK ARE WIERD! TENEBRIS AND I ARE IN AGREEMENT; CROSSWORDS ARE SO EASY. IT'S THE SAME SOLUTION EVERY TIME."

This got a confused look out of Frisk. "How can that be? That argument holds ground against every puzzle in existence."

"YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY? I JUST FILL ALL THE BOXES IN WITH THE LETTER 'Z', BECAUSE EVERY TIME I LOOK AT A CROSSWORD... ALL I CAN DO IS SNORE!" That got a big laugh out of Tenebris, with Papyrus joining him before leaving again.

Selendis shook her head in amusement. "Okay, that was pretty classy."

Sans looks at the girls, Frisk still shaking her head in amusement. "papyrus... finds difficulty in interesting places. yesterday he got stumped trying to "solve" the horoscope."

Tenebris looks at him funny. "How do you go about SOLVING a horoscope when it's... oh wait." The girls started laughing and he pouts. "Yeah, yeah, I'm slow on the up-take, gimme a break..."

Sans chuckled. "guess I'll see ya next puzzle." He wanders ahead.

After Tenebris recovered from his minor loss of dignity, they came across a table that had a plate of spaghetti on it and a note beside it. The first thing Selendis did was read the note out loud, "HUMANS! PLEASE ENJOY THIS- ow, his voice is hard to do."

That got a laugh out of the other two before continuing in her own voice. "Please enjoy this spaghetti. Little do you know, this spaghetti is a trap, designed to entice you! You'll all be so busy eating it that you won't realize that you aren't progressing! Thoroughly japed again by the Great Papyrus! Nyeh-heh-heh, Papyrus."

Tenebris let out a loud, and painful, snort. "And he had to tell us his ingenious plan. As much as he gets in our way, you really can't hate the guy."

Frisk nodded. "I agree. Plus, he's funny in his own way. It's refreshing."

"Kinda like you, Frisky?"

She playfully punched him in the arm and he starts chasing her around the area, her squealing in surprise and delight. He kept redirecting her with his shadow barriers, much to her constant surprise and dismay. "No fair using barriers!"

"All's fair in love and war!"

Selendis shook her head in amusement as she inspected the spaghetti. "Alright, you bunch of jokers. Unfortunately, the spaghetti is frozen; stuck to the table."

Frisk stopped and pouted, which allowed Tenebris to catch her. "You mean we can't eat it?"

"Nope."

Tenebris looked to the side. "There's a microwave right here." He inspects it. "Every setting says "spaghetti." How dignified."

"Oh shut it, you." Selendis pushed him a bit. "Got to give Papyrus credit for trying. Besides, even if the plate wasn't stuck to the table, there's nothing to plug the microwave in to."

"touche."

Frisk had started inspecting a mouse hole that was currently squeaking at her. Knowing the mouse might one day find a way to heat up the spaghetti filled her with DETERMINATION.

*Saved

"Frisk, let's go." She jerked her head around at her sister's voice and quickly moved to join her and Tenebris. "What were you doing?"

"Inspecting something. Nothing too important." Tenebris shrugged, but didn't say anything.

When they found another sign, Tenebris was the one to read it. "Warning: Dog marriage. Fascinating." He started walking away when he did a double-take. "Wait, what?"

*Yes, you read that correctly.

Selendis deadpanned. "Oooooooookay... ignoring that for now..."

Frisk had started playing around in a patch of nearby snow, unknowingly uncovering something. Tenebris inspected it. "Looks like a map of the area. That's... actually kind of clever. Let's find what the X hides."

"Already found it." Selendis approached the both of them. "It was a switch, presumably for those spikes."

"Aw, Selly, you broke the puzzle!" Selendis snorted at how indignant Frisk sounded, but didn't comment.

The trio tried to continue on, but didn't get very far before freezing at the sight of two hooded figures with large axes heading their way. "What's that smell?" ("Where's that smell?") The humans immediately realized that these were the dogs who ran the twin sentry stations earlier. "If you're a smell..." ("... identify yoursmellf!")

Tenebris facepalmed before whispering, "That's not even a bad pun. That's just... bad!"

"Hmmm... here's that weird smell..." The humans felt a chill go down their spines, remembering the smell danger ratings. "It makes me want to eliminate..." ("Eliminate YOU!")

*Dogi, Dogamy and Dogaressa, assault you!

Frisk got the older human's attention. "Remember what that sign said. Roll around!"

Selendis blanched, not wanting to get her jeans and Tenebris' coat dirty, but did so with the other two anyways. "U-um, are you sure we're a weird smell?"

Both dogs adopted a surprised look... somehow and re-sniffed the humans. "Oh, you smell like a little puppy!" ("You all smell like lost puppies!") They suddenly attack anyways.

This baffled Tenebris. "I thought you thought we were puppies!"

"Truth be told, our vision isn't the best." ("There was a weird smell here a few seconds ago and we're trying to find it again. Sorry if we hit you.") Now Frisk was panicking. She didn't know what to do to stop the dogs from attacking them, albeit more blindly.

After their attack was done, the dogs... smooched lovingly and said some sickeningly sweet things to each other. Selendis deadpanned. "I guess this is the dog marriage we read about."

Tenebris was briefly distracted. He imagined himself being able to say sweet things to Selendis and blushed slightly because of it before shaking it off. _Nothing more than a pipe dream..._

An idea hit him and he suddenly petted Dogamy. This distracted the male dog. "Wow! Pet by another pup!"

Dogaressa let out a whine after hearing her fiance. ("Well don't leave me out... please?") Selendis took the cue from Tenebris and pet her. ("Dogs that pet other dogs... Amazing!")

Frisk noticed that the couple had their minds expanded and convinced them to abandon their chase of the weird smell. "Dogs can pet other dogs?" ("A new world has opened up for us!")

Suddenly the two dogs pet all three humans. "Thanks, weird puppies!" The couple scampered off, presumably to experiment.

Tenebris was blushing at the image of Selendis being pet before shaking it off. _Why am I thinking about stuff like that all of a sudden? Is it because we just met a loving couple?_

As Tenebris tried to rid his thoughts, Selendis had similar thoughts about him, only she started imagining him as a puppy as well and, while it confused her greatly as to why she started thinking like that, it made her blush very slightly. Frisk saw them both blushing and, for once, was confused about why. _Maybe they didn't expect to be petted back?_

Tenebris stuttered a bit as he tried to recollect himself. "L-let's just go on... again."

The next puzzle, if it even could be called that, was really simple. When they lowered the spikes, they found Papyrus on the other side, who looked shocked. "WHAT!? HOW DID YOU AVOID MY TRAP?" He didn't even react to them solving the "puzzle," so the humans assumed he was talking about the spaghetti. "AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY... IS THERE ANY LEFT FOR ME?"

Selendis adopted a guilty look. "We... left it." She expected him to bemoan the fact that they didn't even touch the pasta.

"REALLY!? WOWIE... YOU RESISTED THE FLAVOR OF MY HOME COOKED PASTA... JUST SO YOU COULD SHARE IT WITH ME?" That surprised the humans and Tenebris had to bite down a snort of laughter. "FRET NOT, HUMANS! I, MASTER CHEF PAPYRUS WILL MAKE YOU ALL THE PASTA YOU COULD EVER WANT!"

Frisk tilted her head cutely. "I thought you were the Great Papyrus."

"THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING BOTH GREAT AND A MASTER CHEF! HEH HEH HEH NYEH!" He runs ahead again.

Tenebris poked Frisk. "Better watch out, Frisk. You have competition for being THE precious cinnamon roll." That got a giggle out of her as she poked back.

Selendis shook her head. "I have to agree with you, Tenebris. I never expected him to interpret my answer so innocently."

Papyrus didn't really go that far ahead. When the humans caught up to him, he greeted them. Tenebris looked around. "Where's Sans? He's usually with you whenever we find you again."

"OH, I DON'T KNOW. HE'S PROBABLY SNOOZING AT HIS STATION AGAIN. SOMETIMES I WONDER... WHAT HE WOULD DO WITHOUT SUCH A COOL GUY TAKING CARE OF HIM?" He didn't explicitly say it, but Selendis got the feeling Papyrus cared about Sans as much as Sans cared about him.

When they approached another puzzle full of X's, Papyrus ran up beside them. "HMM... HOW DO I SAY THIS... YOU THREE WERE TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET HERE, SO I DECIDED TO IMPROVE THIS PUZZLE BY ARRANGING THE SNOW TO LOOK MORE LIKE MY FACE."

Tenebris gave him a thumbs up. "Looks just like you!" Both Selendis and Frisk looked a bit unconvinced. They might see the resemblance from a bird's eye view, but that wasn't within their grasp.

"THANK YOU KINDLY, TENEBRIS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE SNOW FROZE TO THE GROUND AND... NOW THE SOLUTION IS DIFFERENT!"

Frisk looked at him. "So you don't know the solution to this puzzle anymore."

"SADLY, YES. AND, AS USUAL, MY LAZY BROTHER IS NOWHERE AROUND. BUT WORRY NOT, HUMANS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL SOLVE THIS CONUNDRUM AND THEN WE ALL CAN PROCEED!" Seeing the worried looks on their faces he quickly added, "BUT, IF YOU WANT TO IN THE MEANWHILE, FEEL FREE TO TRY THE PUZZLE YOURSELVES!"

Selendis sighed. "Nothing for it but to attempt it. We should probably limit ourselves to one person trying to solve it at a time, lest we mess each other up."

"GOOD PLAN!"

Thus, the group of four attempted to solve the puzzle. Frisk went first and almost immediately messed it up. Tenebris tried with more success, but found himself trapped between two O's and had to reset the puzzle. Papyrus almost had it as well, but suffered a similar fate to Tenebris. Selendis was the closest, with her failure stemming from a bad choice of a starting point.

In the end, it was Selendis who managed to solve it to everyone's relief and Papyrus' added surprise. "WOW, YOU SOLVED IT, SELENDIS! INCREDIBLE! I'M IMPRESSED! HOWEVER, JUDGING BY HOW ALL OF YOU SO PASSIONATLY TRIED TO SOLVE IT, ALL OF YOU MUST CARE ABOUT PUZZLES LIKE I DO! BECAUSE OF THAT, I'M SURE YOU'LL LOVE THE NEXT ONE! IT MIGHT EVEN BE TOO EASY FOR YOU!" He once again runs ahead.

Tenebris chuckled at how quickly he ran. "Full of energy, that one. Dare I say it's rubbing off on me."

Frisk beamed. "It's infectious and I love it!"

"Is that Sans on the other side of the retracted spikes?" Selendis pointed and, sure enough, there's the lazy bones himself.

He smiled wider when they approached. "took two tries out of all of you, but you managed to solve it quickly. good job."

Selendis gave him a narrow look. "How come you didn't even try to help us?"

'come on, don't be like that. you didn't need my help in the end, which works out 'cause i love doing absolutely nothing."

Tenebris sighed as he shook his head with both eyes closed. "I like your sense of humor, Sans, but you really could stand to be less- uh..." He had opened just his left eye, only to see Sans' face not how he initially saw it. Instead of a constant goofy smile, he saw a depressed frown and eyes that spoke of torture beyond anyone's control.

"Tenny, are you alright?"

Tenebris opened his right eye and looked at the sisters, who sported worried looks. When he looked back at Sans, the smile was back, albeit somewhat confused. He shook his head. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just felt something pass over me."

Selendis observed him closely. "Are you sure you're not getting sick?"

"Pretty sure." When they sighed and shook their heads, he closed his right eye again. Frisk's face suddenly became a determined one and Selendis sported an eternally worried, yet kind, look. This confused him greatly.

Sans shook his head as well. "you probably shouldn't keep papyrus waiting then." Tenebris jumped a bit, but nodded. As they went on towards the next puzzle, Sans couldn't help being suspicious of Tenebris. He saw something about him. What it was, he didn't know, but he was going to find out sooner or later.

When the trio saw Papyrus again, he was in front of some kind of machine. "HEY! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO LOVE THIS PUZZLE!" He motions to both the machine and the ground before him, which was covered in grey tiles. "IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DR. ALPHYS, ASGORE'S ROYAL SCIENTIST!"

Selendis shot Frisk and Tenebris a worried look before asking, "How dangerous it is?"

"I'M JUST ABOUT THERE. SEE THESE TILES!? ONCE I ACTIVATE THE PUZZLE, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME!"

Sans snorted loudly, catching Papyrus' attention. "but bro..."

"WHAT IS IT, SANS?"

"i don't see any bears with you."

Tenebris and Frisk howled with laughter as Selendis gave Sans a flat look. Papyrus looked livid. "SANS, DO YOU WANT TO HAVE A BAD TIME?!"

"hey, bro, it's cool. just thought i'd mention that."

The taller skeleton facepalmed as he tried to re-regulate his breathing. "OKAY, ON THE NOTE OF SANS MAKING BAD JOKES AS PER USUAL, I'LL EXPLAIN EACH COLOR AS SIMPLY AS POSSIBLE IN LIST FORMAT:

"RED TILES ARE IMPASSABLE.

YELLOW TILES ARE ELECTRIC.

GREEN TILES ARE ALARM TILES THAT'LL SUMMON A MONSTER FOR YOU TO FIGHT.

ORANGE TILES ARE ORANGE-SCENTED.

BLUE TILES ARE WATER TILES THAT ARE NORMALLY FINE, UNLESS YOU SMELL LIKE ORANGES BECAUSE THEN PIRANHAS WILL BITE YOU. OH YES, IF A BLUE TILE IS NEXT TO A YELLOW TILE, THE BLUE TILE WILL ALSO SHOCK YOU.

PURPLE TILES ARE SLIPPERY AND MAKE YOU SMELL LIKE LEMONS, WHICH THE PIRANHAS HATE.

FINALLY, PINK TILES DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. DID YOU GET ALL THAT?"

Tenebris and Frisk both zoned out in the middle of the explanation while Selendis looked like she was struggling to remember. "Did either of you two get that?"

Frisk shook herself awake. "Huh, wha? I mean, y-yeah totally!"

Papyrus sighed in relief. "GREAT! JUST ONE LAST THING. THIS PUZZLE... ENTIRELY RANDOM!"

Tenebris chuckled. "Kind of like a random dungeon generator. This'll be fun."

Selendis rolled her eyes. "If you're such an expert on them, then why don't you do this puzzle?" This got a horrified look from him.

Papyrus clapped his hands together. "TENEBRIS WILL DO IT? THEN STEP FORWARD AND GET READY!"

Tenebris stepped forward nervously as Papyrus threw the switch. The tiles started flashing all of the mention colors rapidly until... it gave him a straight path of pink tiles. Papyrus just spun away from the puzzle, seemingly appalled by the fact that he spent so much time explaining, only for that to happen.

Tenebris let out a cough. "Well... that was something..."

Frisk shook her head. "Anti-climactic is more like it."

"I think we can all agree that it wasn't Papyrus' fault. He 'did' say it was random; either I got stupid lucky, or the puzzle has some... glitches in the system."

Selendis gave him a flat look as the humans crossed the 'puzzle'. "I'd say the latter; you're not that lucky."

"Ouch, cold."

Sans chuckled. "i don't think anyone was ready for that. also, that spaghetti for earlier? it... actually wasn't too bad for my brother." Seeing their confused looks he clarified, "since he started cooking lessons, he's been improving a lot."

Frisk shrugged. "I'm pretty sure that's the end goal of most cooking lessons." Selendis mumbled something and Tenebris found the ceiling of the Underground interesting.

Sans shook his head. "true. i bet if he keeps it up, next year he'll even make something edible." He saw Selendis blanch and gave her a curious look. "What's up?"

"ugh... nothing. Just remembering when I tried to teach Tenebris how to cook spaghetti."

Tenebris snorted. "How was I supposed to know that induces uncontrollable arm-flailing and enthusiastic dish washing?" Sans almost blew his head off laughing so hard and Frisk didn't know whether to laugh or cry over the memory.

When Sans finally calmed back down, he gave Selendis and Frisk a cheeky smile. "come on, you two. don't be upsetti over spaghetti."

" _Sans that isn't even a real pun, don't do this to me!_ "

Selendis almost lost it. Tenebris had to muster ALL of his willpower to try and not laugh. Frisk simply looked scared of her. "S-Selly?"

"Ugh, sorry. I still get worked up over that."


	10. Chapter 10: Eyes on the Truth

"I thought I told you never to bring that situation up again, Tenebris!" Selendis was still sour over having to relive the memory of her waving her arms around uncontrollably simply because she ate some of his spaghetti. Frisk didn't have it as bad with her inability to resist washing dishes enthusiastically, Selendis stated it was the only good thing that came out of that scenario since Frisk hardly ever washes dishes, but it was still a bad memory to her.

Not even all of the failed snowdogs all around her, nor could the nice cream they saved from earlier, could completely lift her sour mood.

Tenebris gave her an innocent shrug. "Like I said, how was I supposed to know? It's not like I deliberately made the spaghetti to have those effects. If anything, the only thing I'm still trying to replicate is the one time where I made something seemingly inedible, yet Frisk said it was strangely delicious."

Frisk put a hand up to her chin. "What food item was that? I've forgotten."

"I think it was a hamburger... or was it onion rings? I can't seem to remember either."

Selendis sighed. "If only I wasn't so impatient with teaching you how to cook. Maybe you'd be less of a lethal chef outside of your pizzas."

"Not so much 'lethal' as it is 'random effects'." Tenebris looks at the nice cream he was eating before looking at his arm. They had recently just discovered that monster magic can damage the rest of their body just as badly as attacks to the soul; souls acted more like weak-points to humans. "Changing the subject, is it just me or does the food down here actually heal any and all damage we suffer?"

Selendis and Frisk looked over themselves. All of them had gotten pretty injured during a nasty run-in with Snowdrake, a monster named Icecapp, and... Jerry. Selendis secretly would of preferred eating Tenebris' cooking to dealing with that little shit. The feeling was mutual with the other two humans and even other monsters; Tenebris had to imprison Jerry in a shadow barrier box just to let everyone ditch him.

Frisk nodded. "Yeah. It's like the food has healing properties. To be honest, that's all that matters to me. I don't like seeing you two looking so damaged..." She trails off at the end.

Ternebris pats her on the head. "Frisk, we take the damage intended for you because... well, we care about you too much." Selendis nods as she rubs the girl's shoulder.

"But then... you two would take all of the punishment and come close to death because of it..."

"Frisk, I know you wish to be a bit more independent." Selendis kneels down to look at Frisk at her eye level. "But if I must be honest, things like this... kids like you shouldn't have to suffer through."

"Selendis, while I do agree with you, I can also see where Frisk is coming from now." Selendis looks at Tenebris with a confused look. "All three of us are in it for the long haul. It wouldn't do either of us any good if we simply took every attack in place of Frisk." He shook his head. "I don't like seeing her hurt anymore than you do, but if we are to make it through this journey, we need to be able to cover each other when it counts."

Frisk gave him a smile. "Thank you for understanding, Tenebris. Plus, now that we know the food down here heals us, it'll be easier on our food supply if we spead the damage out evenly between us."

Selendis looked between the two before finally sighing. "Alright, you win. Its just... I want to protect those I care about"

Assuming she simply referred to him as a friend she cares about, Tenebris chuckled. "That should be my job. I'm the one with magic at my disposal, offensive AND defensive. I just need to figure out how to use it well enough to properly fulfill that job."

Frisk's eyes suddenly widened. "Maybe you could ask Sans! Papyrus mentioned that your magic reminded him of Sans' magic, which could mean that Sans uses magic in the same way you're supposed to use it!"

"Eh, suppose it wouldn't hurt. I doubt it, considering how lazy he is, but it's worth a shot if I can master my magic and prevent any harm from affecting us period."

"Then we'd better get a move on." Selendis shivered a bit. "I get the feeling we've spent too long out here."

The very next thing that they encountered was Tenbris' worst nightmare: an ice sliding puzzle. He cursed it out every time he failed to solve it before rage-quitting, leaving Frisk to be the one to solve it.

They reached a field of snow poffs and found 30G in one of them before encountering the Greater Dog. It's attacks were a bit tricky, resulting in damage across all three humans, with Tenebris and Selendis honoring Frisk's wish of dealing with her fair share of damage, which isn't much thanks to Tenebris strengthening the barrier enchantments around all three of them. He ultimately made it contented enough to be spared.

When they came across a bridge, Selendis noticed something about it was off. "It's not swaying and... it's far more solid than it should be."

"T-t-that's g-good." Tenebris was shivering. He also hated heights a lot. As a result, they quickly made their way across the 'solid' bridge before stopping in the middle, when they saw Papyrus. "OH, THERE YOU ARE, HUMANS!"

Sans was with him. "'took you a while to get here. did you 'slip up' that last puzzle or something?"

Before Papyrus could even respond, Tenebris forgot his fear of heights and started yelling, "Are you kidding? I didn't just slip 'up'! I slipped everywhere because the ice down here is freaking stupid! Since when does ice get exempt from the laws of friction?! It shouldn't, but NOOOO, you guys just HAD to have that oh, so special ice that seemingly has NO friction! AT! ALL! SERIOUSLY, why is it that-" He ranted like that for a little bit, almost letting a few cuss words slip, but managing to make last-minute word-swaps to preserve Frisk's and Papyrus' innocence. That didn't stop him from outraging completely.

In the middle of it, both Frisk AND Selendis backed away from him cautiously, while Papyrus simply said, "SANS... YOU BROKE TENEBRUS..."

"... oops?" Was his only response.

After he was done ranting, Tenebris was red in the face and huffing aggressively, his left eye spewing a lot of dark mist and the iris was glowing fairly bright, almost looking like it was a semi transparent purple flame. "H-have I... made my... point... clear?" Both Papyrus and Sans nodded extremely fast. "Good..."

"T-Tenny... are you okay?" Tenebris looked to see the scared faces of both Frisk and Selendis, blanching when they saw his eye.

"Y... yeah. I just needed to get that off my chest." The 'fire' and the mist slowly receded.

Papyrus let out a small cough. "IF YOU'RE... CALMED DOWN, TENEBRIS, THEN THIS IS THE FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE FOR ALL THREE OF YOU! BEHOLD, THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!"

The humans recoiled when a spiked ball, a massive torch, two spears, a cannon, and... a dog suddenly appeared. Frisk whispered, "If it weren't for the dog, I'd be more terrified."

In the end, Papyrus didn't use the gauntlet on the terms that it's too direct and has no class. He passed it off as another victory for himself before giving a confused laugh and leaving again.

Sans sighed as the humans got across the bridge. "sorry about that one puzzle, tenebris. never knew you had such a deep-sated hatred for those kinds of puzzles."

"It's fine. I wouldn't be questioning it if the ice physics down here weren't questionable themselves."

"Didn't you have a question for Sans?" Selendis gave Tenebris a look."

"oh, right, um... hey Sans? Think you could teach me how to use magic?"

This blind-sided the skeleton. "uh... you're asking me of all people to teach you?" A nod later and he sighs. "i'm guessing it's because you overheard papyrus saying our magic is similar. i would say it's mostly true, save for the fact that, like i said, mine's skeleton magic and yours is shadow magic."

"I know, but... I was thinking that perhaps we have to apply our magic similarly."

Sans sighed. "alright, buddy. for now, why don't all three of you follow me into town?"

* * *

Flowey observed from afar as the trio of humans and the one annoying skeleton heading into Snowdin. "I wonder just how much that bag of bones intends to teach him... or how much he currently knows overall."

He thought back to when Selendis, the kid's older sister, was the only anomaly in the timeline. Before her, the kid didn't really have a personality and didn't talk much. There was also some confusion over her gender and, since monsters don't like assuming one or the other, they just labeled her with gender neutral pronouns.

On the 'run' where Selendis first showed up, right after Flowey got a few holes in his memory, the kid had left the ruins as per usual and had just reached Snowdin before her sister came out of the Ruins. Sure, he did attack her, but Toriel managed to save her as well. "I guess that old woman let her go through on that run because she was the kid's older sister."

It was also the first time the kid had completely forgotten what happens in the underground, something that became apparent when she was fooled by his friendliness pellets ploy after seeing it for the third time in a row.

After that, not much changed from previous runs on that run in particular, though there was one situation in hotland that amused him. She also did start falling in love with Papyrus, but wasn't able to go anywhere with it. When a reset happened for a new run, the kid had waited until her older sister joined her before leaving the ruins. That time, however, they had seemingly taken their time reaching Asgore's castle, making friends with as many monsters as possible.

The end of that run is where one of many holes in his memories appeared. He can't remember what happened then, but he wasn't too concerned. What does concern him was when the kid suddenly and finally took his "kill or be killed" mentality to heart in the very next run and started killing everyone in sight. He can't remember what happened at the end of that run either, but he does remember Selendis confronting her little sister with Undyne, pleading her to stop "this senseless destruction of lives."

She was killed while Undyne was pulling herself back together with her determination. When it happened, the kid had a psychotic smile, yet was also crying at the same time. What this meant to Flowey, he didn't know in the end.

"Come to think, that was the last run that happened before the guy showed up with Selendis. Tenebris, I believe. I wonder just how much more will change with him in the game now. Best to keep observing while waiting for my chance to strike at the end."

* * *

"Despite it being so cold out, the friendliness this town radiates warms my heart." Tenebris stated in awe.

Sans chuckled. "yeah, it's a quaint town, but everybody is very friendly, almost to a fault." He points to the first building they see. "if you need food to go or some extra protection, the shop right here should cover your needs." Looking at Tenebris he adds, "there's also Grillby's for some good food that's, sadly, not to go. if you like, we can head there."

Selendis shook her head. "Tenebris can go. I think Frisk and I should stock up on supplies for now. I know Tenebris has his training, but I figured it would be best if we got it out of the way."

Frisk nodded while Tenebris and Sans shrugged. "if you say so. let's go, buddy."

"Wait, where should we meet after?"

Selendis thought for a moment before Frisk piped up. "How about in front of the igloo closest to us?"

"that works. welp, have fun, you two." The two parties waved at each other before the two males went to Grillby's. When they arrived, all of the dog sentries were there along with some other monsters. They all greeted Sans, which signaled to Tenebris that he was well known in Snowdin, until a bird-like monster asked Sans, "Weren't you just in here for breakfast a few minutes ago?"

Tenebris gave Sans a dumbfounded look as he chuckled. "nah, i haven't had breakfast in at least half an hour. you must be thinking of brunch." The entire establishment, save for a fire monster behind the counter, laughed. Even Tenebris snorted at how casually Sans passed it off.

"here, let's have a seat." Normally, Sans would slip a whoopee-cushion onto his seat as a practical joke, but he was curious about what he saw earlier. He sat to Tenebris' left so that his shadow eye was facing him. "let's order. what're you feeling right now?"

Tenebris looked at the menu briefly. "I haven't had anything with grease for a while, so I think I'll splurge with that cheeseburger."

"sounds good. grillby, we'll have a double order of burg'." The fire monster, most likely Grillby, quickly went to the back. Sans waited for a bit before asking, "so, what do you think of my brother?"

Tenebris chuckled. "Do you need to ask? I like him a lot. Sure, he has his... annoying moments, but we all do so I can't dock him on that. Besides with how hard he tries and just how funny he can be in a good way... you can't help but find him endearing." He thought back a bit more and snorted. "Remember that 'trap' he set? The message he left with it sold me. He's too hard to hate, not even worth trying."

Sans felt warm from his analogy. "so your overall impression of him is great?"

"More like outstanding. You'd have to be a heartless monster- I mean... a soulless abomination, in order to hate him in any capacity."

Sans chuckled at the last minute word switch. "I heard you doing that a lot during your rant."

Tenebris shook his head. "Yeah, I needed to get that off my chest badly. I tried my best to avoid cussing outright to try and preserve Frisk's and Papyrus' innocence."

Sans patted him on the back. "thanks, buddy. that means a lot to me, it really does." Grillby came out with two burgers. "here's the grub. want some ketchup?" Tenebris nods and he hands him a ketchup bottle. "bone appetit."

"Heh, nice!" He was about to pour the ketchup when he noticed something. He quickly tightened the lid on the bottle before pouring. Noticing Sans deadpan look, he chuckled. "Trust me when I say I've done it so many times myself."

"oh? you do that to other people as well?"

"Mostly to Selendis and Frisk. You won't be able to trick them either; I've made them THAT paranoid."

Sans almost busted a rib laughing. "aw man, that's hilarious." He waits a little bit before finally dedicating himself to his original intent. "so... i wanted to ask you something."

Tenebris was munching on the best burger he had in a while. "Hmm?"

"just a little something i need to confirm. What did you see about me?" Tenebris felt a chill run down his spine; he knew exactly what Sans was talking about. "And don't try hiding it from me, bud. I can read faces... and yours? you saw something about me that made you stop dead."

Tenebris was still for a few moments before putting down his half-eaten burger with a sad chuckle. "Guess I'm that easy to read, huh? Doesn't take an expert to read me most days of the week; I'm fairly transparent." Sans stayed silent until he started speaking again. "You're right, I saw something. That one time I looked at you? I... I'm going to put this bluntly; I didn't see a fun loving skeleton with a shit-eating grin that one time. I saw a skeleton wracked with depression, looking like the weight of something was crushing him."

Sans blanched and Grillby started paying attention; he thought he was the only one who knew about Sans' depression. "i... heh. don't know how you managed to see that, bud."

"I have a hunch. It's my eye. When I looked at you with just that eye open, I saw all of that weighted down on you. When I looked at everyone else, they didn't have that same hopeless depression on their faces." Sans didn't know what to make of it.

"... Tenebris, correct?" He jumped when he heard Grillby speak. "Try looking at me with your eye.

Tenebris was unsure, but complied by closing his right eye. "I see... a face full of compassion and care. Full of empathy for those who need it the most."

Grillby nods and Sans adopted a surprised look. "... You can see... my true feelings and nature... that is your gift."

"heh... you've managed to see something even i wasn't able to. grillby is right. your eye can see a person's true nature; what they hide under their metaphorical mask."

Tenebris gave Sans a shocked look. "Then.. does that mean you actually are depressed?"

"don't worry about it too much, bud. i have my moments, but i've learned to cope. just ask grillby; he's seen me break down a few times." The fire elemental nodded before going to serve another customer. "what i'm wondering now is, why didn't you know about your ability?"

Tenebris shuddered. "I've... always hidden my eye when I was on the surface. I never exposed it out of fear of being called a freak of nature, even by Frisk and Selendis."

"you're letting them see it now."

"That's purely because I had to be coaxed into doing it. I'm glad they don't think any differently of me, but now my concern is using my magic to protect them from and and all harm. I'm the one with magic; it should be my responsibility."

"i got ya. you know what? just for you, i'll train you to master your magic; it really is similar to mine. just promise me you'll never use it to kill an innocent being."

Tenebris nodded. "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye."

"gruesome, but i'll hold it to you. there's just one thing i wish to test you on before we begin in earnest."


	11. Chapter 11 - Testing the Shadows

"Is he really going to have Papyrus test me?" Tenebris asked himself as he went to regroup with his friends. Sans had agreed to train him in the use of his magic on the condition that he 'fights' Papyrus before hand. This worried the shadow-souled human; outside of the 'blue attack' that he's seen a few times already, he didn't know what to expect from the taller skeleton. Papyrus may be innocent, but that could belie his strength.

Then there was also the issue of how or what his friends should do. They did expect to be staying for at least a little bit for his training, but if he somehow failed Sans test then the trio would simply try and continue on from there. That worried him; he desperately wanted to be able to protect them from as much harm as possible. He may of agreed with Frisk's analogy of why they should 'share' the damage, but he wanted to outright prevent it in the first place.

"Surprise!" Tenebris suddenly found his vision blocked by what felt like a cloth. When he removed it, he saw it was a bandanna with some abs on it. Selendis giggled at his reaction. "I saw that while buying some food for our journey and figured you would like it."

"Heh, thanks. To be fair, I always wanted to try a bandanna on, but never seemed to find any." Selendis gave him an amused look.

Frisk gave him a worried look. "Are you okay? You looked like you were having a dilemma."

Tenebris almost gave a small "irk" sound, but managed to force it down. "Oh, just thinking. Anyways, did you find a place to rest while we were here? I doubt my training can be completed within the same day, even with somebody as lazy as Sans."

Selendis nodded. "There's an inn connected to the store that we can stay in. When she heard that we were staying on account of you training with Sans, she gave us a discount for this duration only. Used to be 80G a night, now it's 15G, which is great."

"Quite the discount. Anything else you guys plan on doing today?"

Frisk nodded. "We were thinking of watching your training session with Sans. Other than that, nothing else really to do." Tenebris couldn't help but grow pale when hearing that, which caught her attention. "What's wrong?"

"Uh... about that. It seems there's... something I must do before my training can begin in earnest. Thing is, I don't think I should involve you two in it."

Now Selendis was suspicious. "What is it exactly?"

"You'll... see when it happens. I doubt I'll be able to convince you guys otherwise, so... just follow me." The sisters shot a look at each other before tailing Tenebris as he walked to the other end of town.

When they exited, an icy fog slowly covered the area until none of them could see directly in front of them. They stopped when they saw a familiar looking shadow standing across from them. "AH! THERE YOU ARE, TENEBRIS. NO NEED TO EXPLAIN; MY BROTHER FILLED ME IN ON WHY I'M TESTING YOU!"

Selendis gave Tenebris the best deadpan look she could muster in the mist. "Test? What's going on?"

"AH, THE OTHER TWO ARE WITH YOU AS WELL? SUPPOSE I CAN EXPLAIN. SANS WANTS TO HAVE ME TEST TENEBRIS ON HOW JUST MUCH MAGIC HE KNOWS THUS FAR. FROM WHAT I COULD GLEAN, IT'S SO SANS KNOWS WHERE TO PROPERLY START WHEN HE ACTUALLY TRAINS YOU."

Frisk looked surprised. "So this is, essentially, a test of magical strength to create a training base-line."

"EXACTLY! AND I WAS MORE THAN HAPPY TO HELP. IT'S THE FIRST TIME MY BROTHER GENUINELY WANTS TO DO SOMETHING RATHER THAN SLACK OFF OR COLLECT SOCKS... OR MAKE BAD JOKES. TENEBRIS, YOU MUST OF SOMEHOW PIQUED HIS INTEREST SOMETHING MASSIVE FOR THAT LEVEL OF CHANGE."

"I... didn't realize. But isn't using one's brother as a test illegal in some cultures?" Selendis frowned. She never thought of it that way.

"REALLY?! YOU HUMANS DON'T DO THAT?! WOWIE... IT MUST BE VERY DIFFERENT ON THE SURFACE. NO WORRIES, BECAUSE I AM A GREAT FRIEND OF YOU THREE, I'LL DO IT JUST FOR YOU. ANYWAYS, GET READY FOR YOUR TEST, TENEBRIS, FOR I..." Papyrus clearly hesitated and turned around, confusing the humans. What jarred them was when he started saying, "NO... THIS IS ALL WRONG. I... I SHOULDN'T BE TESTING YOU OR MAKING FRIENDS WITH YOU. I SHOULD BE CAPTURING YOU FOR MY POSITION IN THE ROYAL GUARD." He turned around again. "SORRY, HUMANS. I'M GOING TO CHANGE THIS UP. I WON'T JUST BE TESTING TENEBRIS. I'LL BE TESTING ALL THREE OF YOU! IF YOU FAIL, I WILL CAPTURE YOU!"

All three humans recoiled when the area grew dark and Papyrus appeared before them in the familiar monotone look.

*Papyrus blocks the way.

Tenebris was having a panic attack. This is not how he intended for things to turn out, nor did he want to actually fight Papyrus. He was too goofy and innocent to fight. Both Selendis and Frisk never foresaw being dragged into fighting a great friend either and were unwilling to do much of anything.

Frisk, not knowing what else to do, started flirting with the skeleton, much to the surprise and slight discontent of the older humans. What surprised all three of them the most was when Papyrus took it seriously. "WHAT!? ARE YOU FLIRTING WITH ME, FRISK!? AND JUDGING BY THAT, THAT MEANS ALL THREE OF YOU FEEL THE SAME WAY... AND YOU ALL FINALLY REVEALED YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS!"

All three humans gave him a dumbfounded look. It wasn't even mild flirting, yet he took it that far. Papyrus ignored their looks and continued, "W-WELL, I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!"

Selendis, thinking back to Papyrus' obsession with a certian pasta, nervously said, "I can make spaghetti."

"OH NO! SELENDIS, YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!" Selendis recoiled a bit, not expecting it to work.

Tenebris... couldn't think of anything that would impress Papyrus. He wasn't good with spaghetti, he sucked at a fair amount at making puzzles, and he felt he was unappealing all around. To top it all off, he considered himself straight, meaning such 'ultimate feelings' didn't actually exist. Sighing, he simply said. "I have zero redeeming qualities."

This got shocked looks from the sisters and even Papyrus. "THAT... HUMILITY... OH NO! THAT HUMILITY... IT REMINDS ME OF MYSELF! TENEBRIS, YOU'RE ALSO MEETING ALL OF MY STANDARDS!"

Tenebris recoiled with his own surprised look. "Is he for real? ?Never thought I would actually find someone just as innocent as Frisk..."

Selendis sighed. "Tenebris, we need to talk later..." He felt a slight shiver go down his spine.

"WELL, I GUESS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH ONE OF YOU...? THE QUESTION IS, WHO?! W-WAIT, LET'S DATE L-LATER AFTER I CAPTURE ALL OF YOU!" He then sends out his first attack... which was simply some bones moving along the ground. All three humans managed to step over them easy.

Papyrus waited a bit for any of the humans to make a move, only to notice all three of them were unwilling to make any attempts at fighting. "SO NONE OF YOU WILL FIGHT... I WAS HOPING TO, AT LEAST, SEE SOME OFFENSIVE MAGIC FROM YOU, TENEBRIS, BUT I GUESS THAT WASN'T PART OF THE 'BASIC TRAINING' YOU RECEIVED. OH WELL, SANS CAN TEACH YOU THAT AND MORE. BUT SINCE YOU REFUSE TO ATTACK, LETS SEE HOW WELL YOU ARE DEFENSIVELY. TRY AND HANDLE MY FABLED 'BLUE ATTACK!'"

The humans saw a bunch of cyan bones moving at them and simply stood still. Selendis was tempted to yawn, but refrained. Frisk, on the other hand, was worried if Sans was actually being accurate about what Papyrus' blue attack actually was. Her worries became a reality when both her soul and Selendis' soul suddenly turned blue and dropped to the ground, right into a bone for each of them. "YOU'RE BLUE NOW. THAT'S MY... TENEBRIS, WHY ISN'T YOUR SOUL BLUE?!"

Tenebris saw his shadow-pulsing, dark purple soul still floating in front of his chest, seemingly unaffected. He shrugged. "Perhaps it's because of how saturated my soul is with shadow magic?"

"THAT COULD BE. I'LL SAY THIS: AS FAR AS I KNOW, THAT IS A VERY UNNATURAL COLOR FOR A HUMAN SOUL." Tenebris' heart fell when he heard this. "NO MATTER, I JUST HAVE TO BE TRICKY WITH MY ATTACKS!" Motioning to the girls he adds, "YOUR SOULS JUMP WHEN YOU JUMP, JUST LETTING YOU KNOW. NOW THE REAL BATTLE BEGINS!"

Papyrus wasn't kidding. Even though Tenebris' soul wasn't subjected to gravity like Frisk and Selendis, all of the floating bones Papyrus sent at them were indeed tricky. The skeleton observed that Tenebris had thrown up some shadowy barriers to protect Frisk and Selendis from particularly nasty waves. Eventually, the bone attacks got so dense that Tenebris started launching shadow bolts from his hands to try and thin them out. "SO YOU DO KNOW OFFENSIVE MAGIC! IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN YOU'D BETTER BE PREPARED FOR MY SPECIAL ATTACK!"

Papyrus launched another normal attack, simply because he was curious about how much offensive magic Tenebris really knew. He knew that, defensively, all he had was shadow barriers he had to cast up each time they're needed to protect everyone's souls, but he could now tell that Tenebris had almost no options offensively either. What surprised the skeleton the most was how much magic Tenebris has stock-piled.

The humans weren't faring as well as they had hoped. Despite Tenebris' best efforts with barriers, all three of them have taken a beating from Papyrus to the point where they needed to consume food to regain health and stamina. This was especially despairing for Tenebris; even against one of the most innocent beings, he was already failing his duty to Selendis and Frisk. _Damnit... if only I was stronger than this!_

Papyrus must of saw the encroaching despair on Tenebris' face, because he suddenly said, "YOU LASTED THIS LONG, I'VE NO CHOICE BUT TO USE MY SPECIAL ATTACK!" The humans braced for it, only to see it get snagged by a little white dog, much to Papyrus' dismay. "WELL... I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO USE A REALLY COOL NORMAL ATTACK..."

Said 'normal attack' started as a bunch of bones spelling "cool dude" with a bone wearing sunglasses on a skateboard. It seemed normal, up until all three humans saw a literal wave of bones heading right for them. Selendis shook her head. "Jump and hope for the best!"

Frisk gave her older sister a shocked look. "Hope for the best?! That isn't the usual Selendis plan!"

"If you've got a better idea, I'm all ears!"

Tenebris sighed. "That's really is all we can do. Jump NOW!" All three humans jump, only to find themselves starting to fly higher than any of them were comfortable with, even if it was to clear a gigantic bone. The fact that they started spinning in the air didn't help matters. "Gravity, what are you doing?! Gravity, stahp!"

"Selendis, I'm scared!"

"I want off this crazy ride!"

When they cleared the giant bone, they suddenly plummeted into the ground. All three of them were so dazed, Tenebris didn't even register a tiny bone hitting his foot. Nobody heard it, but there was faint laughter.

Papyrus didn't even register the humans' dazed looks on account of running out of energy himself. "WELL... *HUFF* IT'S CLEAR... NONE OF... YOU... CAN... *HUFF* DEFEAT ME! Y-YEAH, I CAN SEE ALL THREE OF YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS, FOR I AM JUST THAT INTIMIDATING WHEN I GET SERIOUS." None of them registered what he was saying as they struggled to stand. "THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO GRANT ALL OF YOU PITY! I HATE TO SAY IT, BUT I WILL SPARE YOU! YOUR FINAL THING FOR YOUR TEST? ACCEPT MY MERCY."

Tenebris slowly held a shaky thumbs-up. ""Y-yeah, l-like we were going to do anything else! W-were we?"

Frisk managed to get stood up herself. "Y-yeah, totally!" Selendis simply mumbled something in affirmation, still trying to find her legs.

The mist slowly cleared, for some reason, and the humans could see Papyrus more clearly. A wave of despair came over the skeleton when he realized what the end of that battle meant. "NYOO HOO HOO... I CAN'T EVEN GET ONE OF YOU WEAKENED, LET ALONE ALL THREE OF YOU... UNDYNE'S GOING TO BE SO DISAPPOINTED IN ME. I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD LIKE THIS, AND MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT!"

Frisk noticed that Papyrus sounded... lonely at the end there. She looked at Selendis, who finally managed to recover, and Tenebris with a worried look. They both nodded before she said, "We'll be your friends!"

This... surprised the skeleton somehow. "REALLY?! ALL OF YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH ME?" He suddenly had a contemplative look on his face, which made Selendis bite back a snort of amusement. "I... GUESS I CAN MAKE AN ALLOWANCE FOR YOU!" Realization crosses his features. "WOWIE, WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD A FIRST DATE WITH ANY OF YOU... AND I'VE ALREADY MANAGED TO HIT THE FRIEND ZONE."

That time, both Selendis and Tenebris busted a gut laughing. Frisk merely gave them a confused look. Selendis spoke up. "P-Papyrus, never change, please."

"WOWIE, THANKS SELENDIS. THAT MEANS A WHOLE BUNCH TO ME! I HEREBY DECLARE THAT ALL OF YOU, ESPECIALLY TENEBRIS, PASS THE TEST AND NOW HAVE MY OFFICIAL PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH TO WATERFALL, SANS' TRAINING NOTWITHSTANDING!"

Frisk beamed at him. "Thank you, Great Papyrus!"

The skeleton squeed at those words. "YOU ARE SUCH A NICE HUMAN FRISK! IN FACE, I CAN EVEN GIVE YOU ALL DIRECTIONS TO THE SURFACE!"

Selendis had her interest piqued, but shook her head. "Could we get those directions after Tenebris is done his training?"

"NOT A PROBLEM! ANYWAYS, TENEBRIS, WE SHOULD REPORT TO SANS FOR YOUR TRAINING TO BEGIN."

Tenebris sighed. "I suppose it WOULD be best to get it out of the way sooner rather than later."

"EXCELLENT! LET'S GO FIND MY BROTHER SO THAT HE CAN STOP BEING LAZY FOR ONCE!"

"Hold on, Papyrus, I need to talk to him first." Papyrus gave Selendis a confused look, but complied. She brought Tenebris a few paces away before asking, "What was that "zero redeeming qualities" shtick about?"

"I literally couldn't think of anything that WOULD be redeeming in Papyrus' eyes. I can't make spaghetti, you know first hand how that went, I'm terrible at making puzzles and mediocre at best in solving them, and overall, I look visually unappealing."

She poked his forehead, which he covered with a confused look. "Tenebris, did you think we made friends on you based on your appearance?"

"No, Frisk wouldn't of cared about that."

"Exactly. We care about what kind of a person you are, not what you look like." Selendis sighs; she wasn't the best at these kinds of talks. "Just promise me you won't think negatively about yourself visually from now on."

He nods. "I... I'll try." _No promises, though..._

"Alright. Then you should get going. The sooner you get your training done, the sooner we can reach the surface."

Tenebris nodded before going back to Papyrus, who had a confused look on his face. "WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?"

"Just a comment about me saying I have zero redeeming qualities."

"REALLY? SHE HAD A PROBLEM WITH YOUR HUMILITY?"

That got a laugh out of Tenebris. "It's not that exactly. Nothing to worry about anyways." Papyrus shrugged, but didn't probe any further.

When they re-entered Snowdin, the sisters decided to head to the hotel to rest while the other two headed to Grillby's. Papyrus was clearly reluctant. "I REALLY DON'T SEE WHAT MY BROTHER SEES IN THIS GREASE-HOLE..."

"You hate grease, Papyrus?"

"MORE THAN YOU KNOW." Tenebris simply shook his head, but left it alone. Sure enough, Sans was in there. "SANS, I'M BACK WITH YOUR STUDENT!"

Sans turned around with a semi-surprised look. "huh, that was fast. your verdict, pap?"

"DEFENSIVELY, HE COULD USE A LITTLE MORE FINE TUNING. THE BARRIERS HE USES ARE FINE; HE JUST NEEDS MORE CONTROL OVER THEM AND THE ABILITY TO MAKE SELF-SUSTAINING PROTECTION."

"makes sense, considering you don't want to kill anyone." Tenebris nodded before Sans asked, "what about offense?"

"VERY POOR. ALL HE CAN DO IS use SHADOW BOLTS. IT WAS EFFECTIVE FOR DESTROYING MY BONE ATTACKS, BUT I'M OF THE OPINION HE SHOULD EXPAND HIS ARSENAL. AS I ALWAYS SAY: THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE."

Sans simply chuckled. "so that's the groundwork then, huh buddy? as much as i dislike the prospect of too much offense, sometimes that's all you need to annoy people into quitting. so... sure, i can 'expand the arsenal' as papyrus put it."

Tenebris was... actually excited about being able to have better control over his magic. "When can we begin?"

When Papyrus saw Sans astonished look, he shook his head. "HE HAS A MASSIVE RESERVOIR OF MAGIC JUST WAITING TO BE USED. I'M SURPRISED HE ISN'T BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS BY THIS POINT."

"That might explain why I haven't needed much sleep ever since I was infused." When he saw both skeletons looking at him in confusion, he shivered. "That's... a tale I don't want to recount right now..."

Sans chuckled. "no worries. you can tell it when you're most comfortable. for now... why don't we have our lessons in installments: novice, intermediate, and advanced. that way, you can make more progress towards the surface in-between installments and not waste time on advanced things you ultimately don't need." Tenebris nods and Sans chuckles darkly. "also, i'm warning you now that i actually do take training seriously. be prepared to have a bad time in the beginning."

Tenebris straightened out, but looked determined to go through with it. If it means being able to protect his friends to the best of his abilities, he'll go to hell and back to accomplish it.


	12. Chapter 12 : Watering the Falls

Tenebris' novice level training went by fairly fast by everyone's standards. True to Sans' word, the very beginning of the training wound up giving Tenebris a 'bad time' due to how Sans did his training. However, because of how fast he picked up his lessons, Sans accidentally delved into some of the more intermediate lessons, though he wrote it off as an acceptable loss. One thing that Sans thought was interesting was the fact that Tenebris had some dark purple highlights in his hair. The dark haired boy confirmed that his hair used to be brown, not black with purple in it.

By the time they were done with the training, Tenebris had mastered shadow barrier manipulation. While he only needed refining in that area, true to Papyrus' word, he was able to develop two different barrier styles, depending on the situation. The barrier type he was using before were 'Filter-Type' barriers; They cannot block all damage from going through, but it can be cast as a passive enchantment. While it cannot outright deny attacks, it had a flat, one-time magic cost and lasted longer than the other type, which were called 'Deflection-type' barriers. These ones out-right prevented any attacks, and everything else, from getting through, making them the pinnacle of what Tenebris could manage. He had to sustain them if he wanted them to maintain, but he can place them anywhere he wanted.

He had picked up some new offensive capabilities as well. Because shadow magic worked more differently than the magic Sans was used to, they were able to procure some interesting results. Tenebris can turn his hands and fore-arms into shadow with each finger being razor sharp claws, summon shadow spikes around him, launch shadowy spears, and create pools of movement-slowing darkness. He upgraded his shadow bolts to being able to fire many of them at once in either a scatter-shot fashion or as a rapid fire stream. Creating big balls of shadow energy was also within his grasp now.

While the focus was on offense and defense, Sans also decided to sprinkle in some utility magic as well. At the moment he can enhance his jumping ability, enhance his strength to lift heavier things even though it does not increase striking power, and allowed Tenebris to develop his own way of teleporting. While he couldn't do long-range teleports like Sans, he was able to master short-range teleports he dubbed 'shadow steps' and can use them in rapid succession, though using too many at once can be taxing on his magic reserves.

Selendis, Frisk, and Papyrus all showed up to watch the training and all three were surprised at how well Tenebris retained the training in such a short amount of time. It only took a full day until he had finished his novice training, though Papyrus was panicking about something right at the end of it all.

Sans shook his head after his final training session with Tenebris. "wow, bud. you made this even more painless than i thought."

"I'm kinda amazed at how well I can retain information regarding magic." Tenebris shook his head. "As much as I want to know, we don't have the luxury of doing so."

"hey, don't worry about it. until you come back for your intermediate lessons, i'm going to try and dig up any information on shadow magic i can. don't expect too much though."

Tenebris smiled. "Thanks, Sans. Hopefully what you've taught me so far will be all I need, but you can never be too sure. For now, though, I should probably get going; Selendis might be getting impatient." All this got was a chuckle out of the skeleton.

When Tenebris reached the Snowdin Inn, Frisk and Selendis were already good to go and were talking with a very nervous Papyrus. Frisk noticed his approach and waved. "Tenny, you finished up?"

"Yeah, we should be good to go."

Selendis nodded. "Then we should go. Papyrus, didn't you promise us information on how to reach the surface?"

The skeleton snapped to attention. "OH, RIGHT! IF YOU REMEMBER WHERE WE HAD OUR BATTLE, CONTINUE FORWARD FROM THERE UNTIL YOU REACH THE END OF THE CAVERN. THEN, WHEN YOU REACH THE CAPITAL, CROSS THE BARRIER."

Selendis held up a hand. "Hold on, what's this barrier all about?"

"WELL, IT'S THE MAGICAL SEAL THAT'S TRAPPING US ALL UNDERGROUND. ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING CAN ENTER, BUT NOTHING CAN EXIT EXCEPT SOMEONE WITH A POWERFUL SOUL... LIKE YOU THREE! HENCE WHY THE KING WANTS TO ACQUIRE A HUMAN!"

Tenebris put a hand on his chin. "So we should be fine crossing the barrier. That leaves only one problem: the capital."

"AH, ALMOST FORGOT TO MENTION. TO REACH THE EXIT, YOU'LL HAVE TO PASS THROUGH THE KING'S CASTLE."

Frisk shivered. "Is that the only way?"

"SADLY YES. HOWEVER, THE KING OF ALL MONSTERS... WELL HE'S..." The humans expected him to say powerful, cruel, or ruthless, which is what Toriel painted him as. They almost fell forward when Papyrus said, "HE'S A BIG FUZZY PUSHOVER! EVERYBODY LOVES THAT GUY. I'M PRETTY SURE IF YOU JUST ASK HIM, HE'LL LEAD YOU STRAIGHT TO THE BARRIER HIMSELF!"

Selendis coughed a few times. "W-well, if you say so. We trust you, Papyrus."

"WHILE IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, I'M VERY GLAD YOU DO. NOW I'LL LET YOU THREE CONTINUE ON, WHILE I HEAD HOME TO BE A COOL FRIEND!" Papyrus lets out a laugh that... sounded somewhat forced, but the humans didn't think anything of it. With a wave, he ran off.

Frisk nodded to the older humans. "No time like the present, I suppose." They nod at her before steeling themselves to continue the journey.

When they entered what looked like a new area, they all noticed that it was getting warmer. While it was still chilly enough to warrant some protection, it was pleasant rather than unbearable. A nearby monster told them about echo flowers and their properties before they saw Sans and greeting him. "finally heading into waterfall, eh?"

"Waterfall? Is that seriously the name of this place? What next, a hot area named Hotland?" Selendis deadpanned. When Sans started laughing, she facepalmed. "Who named these places?"

"the king, obviously. his knack for unoriginal and uncreative names is pretty well known."

Tenebris sighed before chuckling. "Sounds a bit like me. I do TRY to give meaningful names, but they could be classified as unoriginal as well."

Frisk giggled. "That's part of what makes you so endearing!" Tenebris blushed at this and ruffled her hair in response.

Selendis shook her head. "Anyways, thanks Sans. Be seeing you around."

When they reached a waterfall with a sign by a box hater, Tenebris decided to check behind a waterfall after dodging some boulders. This baffled Selendis. "What are you doing?"

"Checking behind the waterfall. If Okami as taught me anything, its that if there's a waterfall, go behind it. More than likely a secret or some goodies."

This got a loud facepalm out of her. "Stop projecting games into real life!"

Frisk tugged on her sister's coat. "If that wasn't true, then where did he go?"

Both of them stared at the cascading water until a voice rang out from behind it. "Hey girls, I got you a present!" Tenebris emerged with what looked like a dusty tutu that could fit anyone.

Selendis let out a loud squee before quickly covering her mouth. Frisk gave her an amused look. "I forgot. You like tutus a lot."

"U-um, not when I'M wearing them, though! In fact, I think you should wear it, Frisk!" Frisk sighed before nodding. Tenebris snapped back to attention; he had started blushing over how adorable that squee sounded.

Frisk got the tutu on under her sweater before deciding to take off her ribbon. This confused the older humans until she wanted to give it to Selendis. "You aren't wearing anything that can give you additional protection against magic attacks."

"Are you sure? Nothing's stopping you from wearing both the tutu and the ribbon." Upon seeing Frisk's stubborn look, Selendis sighed and accepted it. Tenebris was having an internal panic attack now; Frisk looked pretty cute wearing the ribbon, but Selendis somehow made it work even more. It took a lot of his willpower just to not start freaking out over it.

They continued until they entered a room with rather ominous lighting. All three of them felt a massive chill down their spines when they recognized an ominous presence in the room. Tenebris quickly whispered, "Quick, hide in that grass!" The sisters didn't even question it before diving into the grass. Peering through it, they saw an imposing figure completely garbed in armor.

What horrified them was when Papyrus suddenly joined it. "H... HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH THE REPORT I PROMISED YOU A WHILE AGO... UHHH... REGARDING THOSE HUMANS I CALLED YOU ABOUT AT THAT TIME..." The humans felt betrayed. Was Papyrus really scheming behind their backs the whole time?

"... HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES, OF COURSE. I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!" There was another voice, but the humans couldn't make out any words. "... WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM..? W-W-WELL..." Papyrus sounded terrified. "NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END... I FAILED." More murmuring. "W-WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THEIR SOULS YOURSELF?! B-BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE..."

Frisk whispered, "I don't think Papyrus meant to sell us out there, now that he's trying to convince... this Undyne character to not pursue us."

Selendis nodded. "Maybe we shouldn't throw him under the bus so soon..."

"Quiet, or they'll hear us!" Tenebris hissed. The sisters clamped their mouths shut and he regretted being harsh.

When they zoned back onto Papyrus, they could here Undyne speaking to him in a somewhat harsh tone until Papyrus said with a somewhat defeated tone, "I UNDERSTAND. I'LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN." Through the grass, they saw Papyrus walking away, dejected and torn.

Frisk waited a bit before moving. Selendis managed to pin her down, but the movement had caught Undyne's attention. The trio stood as still as they could, breathing shallow, shaky breaths as the monster summoned a magic spear. Tenebris slowly flared up his eye, prepared to create a diversion if needed. After looking around for a bit, Undyne dissipated the spear and vanished into the darkness.

Tenebris took a few shaky breaths before motioning the sisters to try moving again. Undyne never tried to ambush them as they exited the tall grass, which gave them all relief, but were still very shaken by the whole scenario.

Frisk almost screamed when a yellow monster shot out of the grass with them. "Yo... did you see the way she was staring at the three of you? That... was AWESOME! I'm sooo jealous that you had her attention. What'd you do to get such attention?" When the humans remained silent, unwilling to talk until they were out of the area, he passed if off. "Aw, whatever. C'mon! Let's go watch her beat up some bad guys!"

The kid ran off, though not before tripping on the way out. Tenebris managed to pull himself together and usher the sisters out of the room. "We'd best not stay in one location for too long..."

The trio was introduced to strange flowers called 'bridge flowers' that bloomed when four of them were in a row. The first room was straightforward, but the next room stumped them. They did run into a monster called Aaron, who not only had a thing for flexing, but kept hitting on Selendis, much to Tenebris' ire. He got the monster to leave her alone by starting a flexing contest, which ended in Aaron flexing himself out of the room.

When Frisk figured out the puzzle, they were startled by a ringing phone coming from Frisk's pocket. This confused Selendis. "When did you get a phone?"

"Toriel gave it to me. She said it was the only one she had outside of her own, so that's why neither of you got one. I thought nobody besides her knew the number, though..."

When she put it on speaker, they all jumped at Papyrus' voice. "HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!"

Tenbris gasped a little. "Sweet mother of mercy, Papyrus, don't scare us like that!"

"AH, SORRY. I JUST WANTED TO TALK TO YOU THREE RIGHT NOW."

Frisk gave the phone a curious look. "How'd you get this number? I didn't give it out to anyone when I was in Snowdin."

"ACTUALLY, IT WAS EASY! I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GOT YOURS!" That brought some humor back into the group as they chuckled.

Tenebris shook his head. "How long did that take you?"

"EH... ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO... GIVE OR TAKE TWO! AH, BEFORE I GET TOO SIDETRACKED..." He suddenly sounded kind of nervous. "WHAT ARE YOU THREE WEARING? I'M... ASKING FOR A FRIEND." This got horrified looks. Looks like Undyne was able to convince Papyrus to turn on them, albeit only indirectly. What shocked them was when he said, "SHE THOUGHT SHE SAW 'A TALL FEMALE' WEARING A RIBBON, A MALE WEARING A BANDANNA, AND A KID WEARING A DUSTY TUTU. IS ALL OF THAT TRUE?"

Tenebris whispered to the sisters, away from the phone. "What should we tell him? I don't wanna strain our relationship with him and Sans, but I don't fancy getting a spear to the face."

Slenedis sighed. "eloquently put as that was, I think we should... tell him that's correct, then switch what we're wearing... at least Frisk and I should. You should just take off the bandanna for now."

"It still feels like we're lying to him, though." Frisk whimpered.

Tenebris sighed as well. "I hate to say this, but I think Selendis has the right idea of it." Speaking loud enough for Papyrus to hear on the phone, he said, "That's correct, Papyrus."

"SO THAT'S INDEED ALL TRUE? GOT IT! WINK WINK! HAVE A NICE DAY!" Papyrus hung up.

Frisk groaned. "Now I have to take this tutu off? It was a pain to get on!"

"We have to. Actually... I'll give my bandanna to Frisk and I can wear the ribbon instead; I'll wear it on my arm." Tenebris motioned as he undid his bandanna.

Selendis nodded. "Papyrus might of heard my plan, so that's a good idea. Though... I just realized that I don't fancy wearing a tutu..."

"What? I thought you said you liked them. Time to put your money where your mouth is." Tenebris shot her a smile and Frisk giggled.

"I said I liked them when they're worn by other people, not when they're worn by me!" Selendis grumbles incoherently before telling Tenebris, "Turn around for a minute!"

He simply chuckles. "Yes, sir."

Clothing articles switched, Tenebris had to refrain from laughing at Selendis. On Frisk, the tutu looked adorably comedic. On Selendis, it looked funny, but in a graceful sort of way. Part of what helped him from laughing was him feeling like a sissy wearing a ribbon.

The next room was dubbed 'the wishing room' and the humans no longer felt scared. upon hearing some of the echo flowers in the room, they felt sad for the monsters; all they wanted was to see the real stars, yet the barrier outright prevented them that right.

What changed their mood from sad back to horrified was when they found ancient text reading the history between humans and monsters. Tenebris shook his head in disbelief. "I've heard about the Monster-Human War in fairy tales. Not only is it true, it was us humans who attacked them first..."

Selendis let out a sad sigh. "It just goes to show you: history is written by the victors and the other side never mattered."

Tenebris nodded, but couldn't help thinking to himself. _Is it truly our right to survive down here when monsters are suffering this much?_

They did glean more about human souls from this set of wall writings and how powerful they are. The way they made a monster with a human soul sound, it was almost like a bad thing; the drawing at the end didn't help that perspective.

After boarding a small raft to the other side of a river, they were suddenly met with ominous lighting again. Frisk whimpered. "I don't like this..."

Tenebris grunted. "Stay frosty. I don't like those pillars on the other side..."

They moved forward a bit until Selendis suddenly said, "WAIT!"

Frisk stopped. Right when she did, a teal spear struck the ground right before her, causing her to scream. Tenebris looked to the side and saw Undyne on the other side, which shot tension through his body. "Move, NOW!"

With Undyne summoning spears to throw at them, they began running across the room to escape her onslaught. Tenebris managed to put up his new barrier type to deflect spears, but that seemingly only annoyed the guard and made her summon spears from all different directions. He knew he couldn't make too many barriers, as it would tax his magic far too much to block so many projectiles.

He decided on an alternative: He created a shadow ball and tossed it onto the ground right before Undyne's path. It created a stretching pool of black energy that ensnared Undyne and caused her to move at a snails pace. He heard her growl in annoyance and started flinging a TON of spears at them as she tried to catch up.

Tenebris thought he couldn't take so many at once and yelled at the sisters, "You guys should start dodging. I can't block all of them!" Neither of them questioned as they started weaving in-between spears, though all three of them occasionally got unlucky.

They eventually powered through it all with some new injuries and dove into tall grass bushes similar to the ones that hid them when they first saw Undyne. They started crawling through it, but froze when they heard heavy footsteps behind them. As Undyne slowly approached, Tenebris once again prepped for a magic attack and hoped she didn't find any of them.

Selendis was the only one in position to really watch as Undyne slowly approached their location. When the guard suddenly brought her hand down, she had to refrain from squealing in fright, praying it wasn't Frisk or Tenebris.

Turns out that she grabbed the monster kid from earlier by the cheek. Undyne put him down with a sigh before going back. When the heavy footsteps were gone, the humans slowly made their way to the other side of the grass, breathing heavily from the running they just did.

The kid exited with them. "Yo... did you guys see that!? Undyne just... TOUCHED ME! I'm never washing my face ever again!" When the humans didn't respond he continued "Man, you guys must be feeling SO unlucky right now. Well don't worry! I'm sure we'll see her again!" He made the same exit as the first time.

Selendis finally found her voice. "As much as I applaud his enthusiasm, I'm not too keen on seeing her again..." She saw Frisk still shivering from her near-death experience and brought her in for a comforting hug.

Tenebris' mind was still reeling. He was wondering if novice training wasn't seriously enough for this area. He thought he would be capable enough with what training he had to get them at least to the next area, but it was starting to look like it wasn't enough. He forced those thoughts down for now; Frisk was scared and he needed to help comfort her.

They decided to rest near a table with crystalized cheese before continuing onward. The oppressive shadow of Undyne's presence continued to bear down on them, filling them with unease.


	13. Chapter 13 - Waterfall-ing Down

Having a mouse come out of it's hole seemingly just to comfort you is something to behold. While the humans were resting and recovering from their encounter with Undyne, the mouse came out it's hole and scampered over to the distressed humans, completely ignoring the crystallized cheese. Selendis played with it for a bit, Tenebris petted it, and it rested on Frisk's head in a cute way. When the humans all ate one cinnamon bunny each to heal their wounds, they all gave the mouse a piece as thanks for reassuring them. It ate two pieces and brought the last one back to it's hole, though not before giving them two heartwarming squeaks that seemingly meant "thank you." That interaction brought determination back to their hearts.

Selendis stood and stretched. "We shouldn't let Undyne get under our skin like this. I know we really can't do anything about her at the moment, but neither should we turn back from just one scare."

Frisk nodded, completely refilled with DETERMINATION. "I agree! If we can't get her to leave us alone, we should at the very least convince her we are not true threats."

Tenebris wasn't so optimistic. He knew that Undyne was hell-bent on getting their souls, and he doubt kind words and a hug or a treat will get her to deviate. He managed to connect eyes with her during the chase and saw just how much determination this one monster had; she won't stop without a damn good reason and won't go down without a fight.

He shook his head. "Suppose loitering isn't going to get us anywhere... and I get the feeling we've been saying similar things to that a lot lately."

Frisk shrugged. "Don't think about it." That got a facepalm out of Tenebris and a snort out of Selendis.

When they left the crystal cheese room, they saw Sans with a telescope and another dimensional box. He greeted them casually. "sup? how are you finding waterfall?"

Selendis shook her head. "If you discount the crazy guard trying to murder you, it's pretty serene."

"wow, had a bad run-in with undyne?"

Frisk nodded. "On top of a near-death experience. I'm sure we're fine now, though."

Sans let out a relieved sigh, though he noted some reluctance on Tenebris' face. "that's good to hear. by the way, i'm thinking about getting into the telescope business."

Selendis gave him a funny look. "You mean selling telescopes? When all you can see is sparkling stones that never change locations?"

Sans chuckled. "no, silly. i mean letting people look into a telescope for a price."

"Not a very good industry down here..."

Sans chuckled again at Selendis' deadpan. "you'd be surprised. anyways, i already have one here and... normally it's 50000G to use this premium one... but since i know you, you can use it for free." Sans had to force down a snort when Tenebris picked up what he was doing and, out of Frisk's and Selendis' views, was giving him a shit-eating grin and a thumbs up.

Frisk nodded enthusiastically before peering into the telescope. She looked through it for a bit before she withdrew with a confused look. "All I see is red..."

Selendis frowned. "Really? Let me check." As she put her eye to the telescope as well, Tenebris couldn't contain his laughter anymore and fell over "She's right, nothing but red. Sans what is this?"

Sans grinned even wider with a cheeky look on his face. "you aren't satisfied? don't worry, i'll give you a full refund."

Frisk looked at Tenebris with confusion. "Are... you okay there?"

"I am so dead..." He managed to wheeze out. He got a look at Selendis before redoubling back in laughter, this time Sans joining in.

Selendis frowned. "I don't get you tw-" both she and Frisk looked at each other and saw a purple circle around their left eyes. The sisters pointed at each other before trying to scrub the purple off their faces. "SANS! You sea-horse, you're dead to me!"

"At least it comes off easy." Frisk stated with a giggle, looking at her now purple hand. "I'll admit, it was a pretty classy trick."

Selendis grumbled as she washed her hands and face in the nearby water. "To you it might be... it's almost as bad as Tenebris pranking us with a loose lid on a bottle of ketchup!"

Sans managed to stop laughing. "aw, come on, selendis. no need to get all 'washed up' about it." He shook his head. "c'mon, i'll make it up to you. the nice cream guy just recently moved to this room, so i'll treat ya."

After eating the nice creams Sans bought them and putting away a few more they bought themselves, the humans continued forward with Selendis still somewhat sour about what just happened.

After a bit of walking, they got a phone call. "HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!"

Tenebris chuckled. "Hey, we just ran into your brother here."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?! HE'S SLACKING OFF YET AGAIN..." He suddenly cleared his throat nervously. "A-ANYWAYS. SO... REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU THREE ABOUT CLOTHES? WELL... THE FRIEND WHO WANTED TO KNOW... UM... HER OPINION OF YOU THREE IS... RATHER... MURDERY."

Frisk sighed. "Papyrus, what did you tell 'her'?"

Papyrus seemed a bit surprised, but caught himself. "WORRY NOT, FOR PAPYRUS WOULD NEVER WILLINGLY BETRAY YOU! AFTER ALL, I AM NOT A CRUEL PERSON. I STRIVE TO BE-"

"- Comforting and pleasant. Frisk and I heard that before, Papyrus." Selendis stated with a weary sigh. He was rather insistent about it.

"R-RIGHT. SO, BECAUSE OF MY INHERENT GOODNESS... I TOLD HER YOU THREE 'WEREN'T' WEARING THOSE ITEMS!" This got a shocked look from Frisk and flat looks from the older humans. "I KNOW YOU TOLD ME THAT WAS TRUE, WHICH IS WHY I MADE UP SOMETHING OBSCENE! I TOLD HER... THAT THE KID WAS WEARING A BANDANNA, THE MALE A RIBBON, AND THE 'TALL FEMALE' A DUSTY TUTU."

Now all three humans bore shocked looks. Papyrus continued regardless, "IT'S OBSCENE BECAUSE I KNOW TENEBRIS WOULD NEVER WEAR A RIBBON AND SELENDIS A TUTU, MEANING IT MUST WORK! STILL, IT PAINED ME TO TELL SUCH A BOLDFACED LIE... I JUST WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE..." When he got no responce he squeed. "JUDGING BY YOUR STUNNED REACTIONS, IT WORKED! WELL, ANYTHING FOR GOOD FRIENDS OF MINE!" He hung up after that.

Frisk continued to give the phone a shocked look. "How did... he... is he telepathic?"

Tenebris let out a massive groan. "OR just has stupid amounts of luck... or is stupid unlucky, depending on how you view it."

Selendis put away the phone this time, sighing once again. "Too late now. We might as well... do whatever for our equipment."

The humans swapped their equipment around back to what it was before Papyrus called the first time. As they continued, they met a monster named Onionsan, who informed them of his plight; the fact that the water level in Waterfall was dropping and he barely had any water to sit in. When he expressed certainty that Undyne will be able to fix things like this, doubt began to once again come over the trio.

That quickly vanished when they encountered a monster named Shyren, who... somehow encountered them while hiding in the corner. When Selendis got how she was named, she started humming a melody that the monster followed along with. Tenebris and Frisk got in on the singing as well and soon a random concert started up, with Sans appearing out of nowhere to sell tickets made out of toilet paper. When it was finally concluded with a farewell song by Shyren's own making, she admitted that she was tone deaf and was afraid to sing as a result. Thanks to the humans, she had more confidence and taught the humans a lullaby.

The ancient glyphs in the next hallway shed more light on a monster's soul, which Tenebris found curious. "So soul fusing works both ways, just that it's very hard for a human to absorb a monster soul, save one from a 'boss monster.'"

Selendis groaned. "Why are video game analogies everywhere down here? it's like the monsters of ancient times WANTED outsiders to think of down here as a game!"

Frisk shrugged. "I doubt it. Back then, things like electronics never existed, assuming the monsters were sealed around the medieval times. It's just purely coincidental."

Tenebris chuckled. "That's one big coincidence. Still, even I wouldn't treat this _entirely_ like a game; real lives and consequences are at stake and it's not like we can save or load." Frisk gulped silently at those words. She was still afraid of what the older humans would think of her abilities down here.

When they saw a lonely-looking statue getting rained on, they felt sadness once again creeping into their minds. Tenebris saw umbrellas up ahead and, as a tribute to whoever the statue was built for or after, stuck it in the statue to make it dry. Frisk smiled at the gesture, but what warmed everyone's souls was when the statue started playing an innocent tune, seemingly in thanks for the umbrella.

Selendis closed her eyes with a smile. "It reminds me when Frisk was much younger. Days of innocence... when we had not a care in the world." Frisk pulled at her sleeve and she brought her little sister in for a hug.

Tenebris nodded. "Days we can no longer live. But sometimes... it's good to reminisce about the days of old, when everything was so much simpler..."

They stayed like that for a little while longer before bidding good-bye to the statue, though not before Tenebris kneeled before the statue and prayed that the soul whom the statue was built after found peace.

When they found where Tenebris got an umbrella, they saw it 'raining' ahead in the caverns and took two more. Tenebris and Selendis each held one, while Frisk snuggled with Selendis under one. They found the monster kid from earlier who had taken refuge from the rain. "Yo, you guys have umbrellas? Sweet! Could... um, could I join you?"

Tenebris sighed. As annoying as he was about the one trying to kill them, he was still just a kid. "Sure, why not. I've got room under mine."

"Thank you!"

The kid occasionally gushed over Undyne as they walked and the humans... humored the kid. When the reached a very open-spaced room, they saw a massive castle with a town underneath it. The kid saw their looks and smiled. "I'm betting you never seen the capital before. Well there it is in all it's glory."

Frisk shook her head slowly. "That's the capital... to think our final destination is so close, yet so far away."

Selendis nodded. "Yeah. Imposing as it is even from this distance, go there, we must."

"Okay, Yoda." Tenebris snickered. Selendis rolled her eyes.

They reached a tall ledge that looked too tall for the kids to climb, even if one got on another's shoulders, and the older humans could barely climb it. Tenebris smirked as he put away his umbrella. "Time to use one of my new skills."

Selendis gave him a flat look as she put away her umbrella. "And what might that be?"

A dark aura enveloped his feet as he smirked. "This." He jumped incredibly high, easily clearing the ledge. "Sadly, I've yet to learn how to cast this on other people. At least I can pull you guys up."

He was able to pull Selendis up no problem thanks to his strength-enhancing aura, but everyone realized that he wouldn't be able to pull up both kids. Monster kid shook his head. "I'll stay behind. I always find a way through." Frisk gave him an uncertain look, but got on his shoulders when he offered. Thanks to that, Tenebris got her up onto the ledge as well before the kid ran off again.

They found more glyphs and learned something new: when monsters die, they turn to dust. Selendis grimaced. "That's... kinda morbid, actually. We humans treat getting turned to ash as an option. Monsters don't have that luxury."

Tenebris sighed. "At least I'll know when I have sinned irreversibly if I go too much on the offensive."

Frisk whimpered as she looked at him. "Please don't let it come to that. I don't want to see anybody die..."

He pats her on the head. "Don't worry. I know I must be careful. I'm not cold-blooded." This got a smile out of her.

When the ominous lighting returned, they knew what it meant. They stopped when a teal circle appeared on the ground in front of them. Selendis sighed. "Guess who's back?"

A whole bunch of the circles suddenly surrounded them and spikes shot up from them before Undyne revealed herself one level below. Tenebris hissed in annoyance. "I can't block that! Just run!" The chase began again, but he wasn't having any of playing just defensively again. "You can dish it out, monster, but can you take it?"

He created a shadow orb and threw it down a level, where it began spitting scatter-shot shadow bolts at the guard. She yelped in surprise and the spikes from the ground became faster, but more hapzard. Thanks to that, the humans were able to last without getting hit once.

What dismayed them was that their level was a bit of a maze, and they ran into a few dead ends. Even when they though they found the correct path, it was yet another dead end, though Undyne suddenly stopped summoning spikes. The reason why quickly became apparent to the humans: Undyne had moved up a level to confront them directly. Tenebris put up a shield, only to find it pointless when the guard disconnected the section of the bridge they were on.

Tenebris and Selendis barely got their hands on Frisk before they hit the bottom and blacked out. This time Tenebris was the first one to wake up. "Ow... I've been falling a lot lately..." When he saw both Frisk and Selendis unconscious, he panicked. "Oh no no no no, please wake up!"

Frisk stirred. "Mh... what happened? Last thing I remember was falling because Undyne destroyed our bridge section." She looks down. "Again, the flowers break our fall..."

Tenebris noticed the same yellow flowers from inside the ruins as Selendis started waking up herself. "I wonder why there are flowers growing out here of all places. There's no light anywhere here."

"Who... who cares. I'm just glad they saved us once again." Selendis stood up, but was a bit shaky. "At least it wasn't as bad of a fall as the one leading into the ruins."

Tenebris looked around and grunted. "Well, that's just trashy... I think we're in a garbage dump of some kind."

"Please don't start with the puns, Tenebris. My thinking's garbage enough without you... oh god why?!"

Selendis started freaking out as Frisk and Tenebris laugh a bit. "I'm proud of you, Selly!"

Tenebris shook his head. "Anyways, let's look for a way up or out. I don't feel like floating around with the trash any longer than I have to."

Along the way they found a still-functional cooler with some astronaut bars inside. The humans took a few just to be safe and continued on, walking past a dummy that looked similar to the one in the ruins. Tenebris was tempted to punch it, but refrained.

A chill ran down their spines, making them stop dead in their tracks. When they looked behind themselves, they saw the dummy suddenly transform and disappear under the water, only to reappear in front of them. "Hahaha, too intimidated to fight me, huh?!"

"What the deuce is going on?!" Was all Tenebris could manage.

"I am a ghost that lives inside a DUMMY. My cousin used to live inside a DUMMY, too, until..." He points at Frisk. "YOU CAME ALONG! When you talked to them, they thought they were in for a nice chat... but the things you SAID..! Horrible. Shocking! UNBELIEVABLE!"

" _You take that back..._ " Selendis' voice got dangerously low. " _My kid sister would never speak like that to anyone, EVER! What right do you have to judge her?_ "

"YOU should talk! You just walked RIGHT past them, never even bothering to give them the time of day! HUMANS! I'll scare your souls right out of your bodies!" He started shifting his body around, looking extremely pissed.

Selendis growled as Frisk hid behind her in fear. " _Tenebris, would you kindly?_ "

He grinned. "With gusto."

He walked in front of his friends and the Mad Dummy took notice. "What? You think you stand a chance against me?! Futile. Futile! FUTILE!"

Tenebris huffed in irritation. "And here I was thinking we could just talk it out. I was even going to ask you about something, but you don't seem up for casual conversation. Oh well... I still got one for you to answer. You seem to have taken refuge in an inanimate object yourself. Tell me..." He closed his eyes for a bit before reopening them with mist spewing out of one with a purple fire. He gives the dummy a slasher smile. " _ **Do you feel fear?**_ "

The dummy stopped moving and it's eyes had pure fear in them. It started sputtering scared gibberish before crying. "YES, YES I DO FEEL FEAR! I'm outta here, I'm not up for fighting, not when humans can use magic!" It flew away in a hurry.

Tenebris shrugged as the mist and flame died back down. "Oooookay... maybe I went a little too far."

Selendis deadpanned. "I'll say. Remind me to never make you mad."

"I could say the same thing about you." He shot back at her.

"Touche." If there was ever one thing in common between them, it was that they were still protective of Frisk.

"I-I really appreciate you guys sticking up for me, but..." Frisk gave them a distraught look. "C-could you refrain from doing that ever again? I don't want monsters thinking we're scary or intimidating."

Tenebris sighed and nodded. "Promise. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth doing it anyways, even with that dummy."

Selendis shook her head. "No promises from me. I know we're supposed to share the damage between the three of us, but that won't stop me from protecting you from other things." Frisk sighed, but gave her sister a hug anyways. "I know I'm scary when mad, but... well that's how us older siblings are like when our younger siblings are threatened."

Tenebris shrugged. "Technically speaking, I don't have a younger sibling. You're just that much my family, Frisk."

Frisk hugged him too. "And I'm grateful for it. Just... try not to resort to scare tactics, please?" He ruffles her hair in response.

"Oh... somebody's there..?"

The older humans jumped in fright, but Frisk smiled. "Napstablook!"

A sad looking ghost appeared before them. "Oh... hi... Frisk... I haven't seen you since the Ruins..."

"I'm glad you're doing well!"

That seemed to cheer the ghost up. "Thank you... you're so kind to me. Who... are your friends...?"

Frisk grabbed Selendis. "This is my older sister, Selendis, and my friend right here is Tenebris!"

"Oh... nice to meet you... I'm Napstablook, nobody really special..."

Selendis gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't say that about yourself! I'm sure you're a somebody to someone. You are to my sister, after all!" Tenebris nodded with his own encouraging smile.

"Oh... you two are also so kind to me... I met Frisk in the Ruins because nobody every goes there. I'm glad I did that one day..." Napstablook looked at Tenebris. "You... have shadow magic. Are... you scary?"

Tenebris let out a large sweat-drop and he chuckled nervously. "I don't try to be 99.9% of the time. Don't worry, I'll be on my best behavior."

That seemed to reassure Napstablook. "Oh... that's good. If you want... you can come to my place for a bit... but... no pressure." The ghost floated back the way he came.

The humans decided that a small break was in order, so they followed him to his house. It was pretty run down, but otherwise accommodating. Sadly, all Napstablook had to offer for food was ghost sandwiches, which none of the humans could interact with, much to the ghost's disappointment.

He decided to change the subject. "After a great meal, I like to lay down on the ground and feel like garbage. It's... um... a family tradition. Do any of you... want to join me..?"

The trio, not wanting to make the ghost sad, agreed and lay down with the ghost. After a bit, they relaxed a lot. Tenebris' eye even started giving off the mist again without the purple flame.

What surprised all of them, even Napstablook, was when Tenebris became so relaxed to the point of understanding the universe a bit better, The mist suddenly enveloped the room and changed to what appeared to be a live backdrop of the cosmos. This gave everyone a look at the cosmos that the Underground never had a chance to see, something Napstablook enjoyed immensely.

Selendis let out a content sigh. "As much as I would like to lay down forever, we need to get going. Thank you for having us over, Napstablook."

The ghost nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, it was... nice having you all over. Thank you... for that show, Tenebris..."

He shrugged. "I'll admit, that was an unintentional byproduct of understanding the universe better, so I should be thanking you, my good sir." He bows courteously.

Napstablook blushed a little. "Wow... all three of you are so kind... I... actually have some information that might help you, Tenebris..."

Frisk looked at him curiously. "Is it regarding his shadow magic?"

"It was... called the magic of darkness in ancient times... I know that there's a book on it somewhere in the underground with info on it in there... I hope it helps..."

Selendis smiled and patted the ghost as best as she could. "It will help immensely, thank you."

After bidding farewell to a now flustered Napstablook, the trio quickly found a make-shift shop in some ruins. The monster that ran it, an old turtle monster, quickly noticed them. "Woah there! I've got some neat junk for sale."

Frisk gave him an odd look. "Just junk and that's it?"

"Well... okay, whippersnapper, only two things here 'could' be considered junk. If you need food or drink, I also got it."

Tenebris checked his water bottle. It was empty from everyone having to drink from it when needed. "I guess we can stock up here. What kind of drink?"

The monster chuckled. "Sea tea. Might not be the best tasting tea out there, but it's hydrating and puts quite a zip in yer step!"

As Tenebris and the monster, who calls himself Gerson, filled the bottle, Frisk noticed a pair of glasses and a torn notebook on sale. Selendis got Gerson's attention when he was done helping Tenebris. "Please excuse me, but do you know of a book that has information on... the magic of darkness?"

The old turtle laughed a bit. "That one, eh? I can't blame you, since your male companion can use it. And before you ask, I've seen it my fair share of times in the same way he can; it can be dangerous but also beautiful." He gives Tenebris a curious look. "It was as rare as it was strong; few monsters way back then and even fewer humans had it. How you you come to possess such magic?"

Tenebris sighed and shook his head. "I... don't want to talk about it. All I can say is that it was forcefully injected into me. As a result, I don't have full knowledge on how to control it, though I have enough training to keep it in line."

"Hmm, that's good. The book you seek can definitely help you. Mind you, it covers another type of magic as well, though I don't remember. I do remember the title. Elements: The Magic of Spirit. I used to have a few copies of it, but some went to the capital while one went to Snowdin."

Tenebris nodded. "Thank you, sir. And thank you for refilling our drinking supply."

Frisk got Selendis' attention. "I think we should buy those glasses."

Gerson laughed. "They would look good on one of ya, if I do say so myself."

Selendis sighed. "Well... considering such things seem to increase our defense against magic attacks, I guess so."

After purchasing the glasses, she put them on at Frisk's suggestion. Gerson whistled. "Don't you look like a pretty young human now!" Seeing their shocked looks, he laughs again. "Don't worry about me knowing who you are. You are fine folk, so I'll just pretend that you never stopped by."

Selendis sighed in relief. "Thank you, sir. Let's go- where's Tenebris?" Sure enough, he was suddenly gone.

Gerson gave an amused smile. "He whispered to me about having to do something before bolting. Sounded like he forgot something important, so I wouldn't worry about it." Seeing that they got worried looks anyways he shook his head. "If yer that concerned, just wait in the room with trails lit up by glowing mushrooms. I'll send him yer way if he comes back."

Frisk still looked unsure. "If you say so, Mr. Gerson..." With that, the sisters left.

Gerson chuckled before looking under a nearby counter. "You okay there, buddy?"

Tenebris was hiding there, clutching his knees to his chest and repeating, "I'm trash! Total, utter garbage!"

Gerson clapped his hands together, which got the flustered human's attention. "They're gone now, if that's what yer worried about." Tenebris slowly climbed out, face still tomato red. This made the monster howl in laughter. "Look at you so embarrassed! Oh to be young and in love again!"

Tenebris stuttered, "I-I couldn't h-help it. S-she look s-so cute in t-those glasses combined w-with that r-ribbon! I'm utter trash, I-I tell you!"

Gerson patted him on the back. "Calm down kid. You aren't trash, no matter what you try and tell me. You just have strong feelings for the girl you never felt before. Tell me: have you ever asked her out before?"

"N-n-no. I-I don't want to ruin our f-friendship, plus I-I doubt she w-would ever... view me in the same way." Tenebris lost his blush and looked down out of shame.

Gerson gave him a stern look. "What makes ya so sure?" When he was met with an averted look, he sighed. "Kid, you shouldn't make assumptions all your life about the one you love. Life always continues on without you and... well I'd rather you know than for you to live your whole life, tormented by that one question."

"I... I don't know..."

"It's that you're not trying to know. You don't HAVE to ask her right after this conversation, but don't wait forever. You never know when something might permanently tear you two apart. Besides, if it's any consolation to you, she looked mighty worried when you suddenly vanished on her like that, and I don't mean as just a friend."

Tenebris remained silent for a bit before sighing. "I... suppose your right. I... might not ask her in the near future, but... maybe after all of this is over."

Gerson leaned back, satisfied with his answer. "Take it from an old coot who's been around since the Human-Monster War. All too often, I see a young monster fall in love, only for that love to be snatched away, either by someone else or by a cruel twist of fate, and live on, never knowing if their love was returned in kind." He gives the shadow-eyed human a stern stare again. "Don't live permanently broken like that. I've seen what it does to monsters with otherwise bright futures."

Tenebris nodded, a small smile on his face. "Thank you, Gerson. I should be going now." With that, he left.

Gerson chuckles as he pulled out a pipe. "Human or not, don't live and suffer like this old fool once did..."


	14. Chapter 14: Dueling Destinies

Just a fair bit of warning, This is a longer chapter. I couldn't fine a way to segment what I wanted to write into multiple chapters, so... consider this a 'special' chapter. Primarily because it contains a fight scene, but for other reasons you'll see later. Be sure to let me know how well I did for the fight scene though, please?

* * *

"So what was it that made you leave without telling us?" Selendis asked a re-flustered Tenebris when he met up with her and Frisk.

The shadow-eyed human still couldn't get over how cute she looked with the glasses and ribbon combo. "W-well... I went back and double checked something with Napstablook. I had hoped to make it a very quick trip, but it took longer than I anticipated."

"Uh huh..." Selendis didn't look convinced, but knew Tenebris would just keep dodging her questions, so she let it lay where it fell. She didn't even bother wondering why he was acting so flustered. _Come to think, he's been acting more flustered down here than ever before. I wonder if it's because the volume of magic down here is getting to him._

Tenebris sighed in relief, but froze when he saw Frisk giving him a knowing smirk. "No..."

"Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm..." She hummed in a cheeky tone before skipping past him. Tenebris knew he was going to have a bad time if Frisk knew of his now massive crush on her sister. He had to keep her quiet somehow... in a non-violent way, of course.

It didn't take long for something to change the mood to appear. Unfortunately for Tenebris, he was still on the spot, but this time it's over Frisk's nickname for him. The reason? They ran into a monster called a Temmi.

The irony wasn't lost on Selendis, who smirked. "Tenny meet Temmi." Frisk let out a loud snort of laughter.

Tenebris facepalmed. "Why am I getting dunked on everywhere all of a sudden? Also, why are you doing this to me, Selendis?"

"Revenge for all those bad jokes you put me through!"

"Urgh... touche. A-anyways, did you two read those glyphs on the way here? I wanted to catch up to you, so I didn't get to view them."

Frisk nodded. "Yeah. Turns out that seven human magicians were the ones who sealed the monsters down here, confirming that magic DID exist in humans long ago. Also, if a power equal to seven human souls attacks the barrier, it will be destroyed."

Tenebris frowned as he tapped a mushroom to light the path more. "Why do I get a bad feeling from that alone..."

Selendis shook her head. "I have to agree with you there. Looks like there's more to the whole barrier situation than how Papyrus made it sound. Guess it's a reason why monsters would be gunning for all three of us; that's three out of seven souls right there."

"Somehow, I doubt it's that simple with my soul. Remember how my soul was flat-out immune to Papyrus' blue attack? I never touched on it with Sans while we were training, but I think that, because my soul has special properties from being infused with so much magic of darkness, it might not work the way the monsters want it to..."

Frisk hummed thoughtfully as she tapped another mushroom. "I would think that it would make your soul even more powerful; maybe equivalent to two human souls?"

Tenebris let out a loud laugh. "Doubt it. Sans would of stated it if that's the case. I think it's just a case of a soul saturated with magic."

Selendis nodded. "Plus, what makes up a human soul is very different from what makes up a monster soul. Then again, human souls were barely studied by humans in general, so I'm just theory crafting here."

Frisk sighed. "I suppose we'll have to run on what we know for now. Also, why is this next room so dark?"

They had entered a room with light-absorbing crystals present. Tenebris could see just fine thanks to his magic, but he didn't want the sisters stumbling around. "I think we just have to light lanterns as we go here. I'll hit the first one." Sure enough, the path brightened.

The next room wasn't so kind. It got darker as they walked deeper into it. Tenebris saw an echo flower at the end and brought the sisters in to listen.

The voice none of them wanted to hear played.

" _Behind you._ "

The room suddenly got brighter and when the humans looked behind them, they saw Undyne right there. Tenebris managed to get both Frisk ans Selendis behind him as he flared his eye up, ready for anything the guard threw at them.

What surprised them was when she suddenly spoke. "Seven... seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king... King Asgore Dreemurr... will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity and give them back the pain and suffering we have endured." All she got was a determined, yet somewhat fearful look from Tenebris and horrified looks from the sisters. What somewhat broke Tenebris' facade was when she continued, "Understand, humans. This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your souls... or I'll tear them from your bodies!"

Frisk whimpered as Selendis held her tighter. Tenebris merely gave her a narrow look as Undyne summoned a spear. She suddenly dashed at the humans with no warning, which caught Tenebris off guard and got a scream out of Selendis.

What stopped the guard was the monster kid from earlier popping out of the bushes shouting, "Undyne! I'll help you fight!"

This got a horrified look out of Tenebris. _Oh no... Please no..._

The kid looked between the guard and the humans suddenly confused. "... Wait. Who's she fighting?" Undyne suddenly grabbed the kid by the cheek and started dragging him away. "H-hey! You aren't gonna tell my parents, are you?"

When the two monsters were out of sight, Tenebris fell over. "Oh my god... I thought Undyne was going to attack the kid right there..."

Selendis huffed a bit as Frisk slowly found her legs again. "I-I doubt it. She's considered a hero by most monsters, and I doubt she got that title by being ruthless."

Tenebris looked over the sisters, who were still shaking from the encounter. He knew that Undyne would never give up the chase for their souls and will likely chase them all the way to the capital. Seeing the fearful looks on their faces filled him with resolve; he knew what he had to do and he was going to go through with it.

After recovering from a near-messy situation, they continued up a path that was now illuminated. They saw another set of glyphs that read of a prophecy about an angel who's seen the surface. Tenebris shook his head. "Just like I said in the Ruins. If there is a legend of prophecy, it's bound to be true. The only question is who this angel actually is."

Frisk started at the writing a bit longer. "'The one who has seen the surface.' The only way that could be true is if it was a human, because no monster has ever set foot outside of the Underground. But then... why try and kill any humans that come down here?"

Selendis sighed. "Perhaps because they lost faith in those words." Tenebris nodded. Too much time can do that.

Just before they completely crossed another bridge, they were stopped by a "yo!" When they looked, it was the monster kid. "I... know I'm not supposed to be here, but... I wanna.. no, need to know." He hesitated. "Man, I've never asked this before. You... you three are humans, right?"

Tenebris sighed before nodding. "That we are, kid. Even by monster standards, I bet we stick out."

The kid laughed a bit. "Man, I knew it... or at least I know it now. Undyne told me to "stay away from those humans." D-does that make us enemies?" His uncertainty and sad tone of voice was breaking the trio's hearts. "I... guess that makes us enemies or something. To be honest... I kinda stink at that... haha. So, uh... could one of you, any of you, say something mean to me so that I can hate you?"

All he got was silence and shaken heads. None of the humans wanted to be mean to the kid. This apparently dismayed him on the surface, but he almost was relieved by it as well. "So I have to do it? Well, here goes nothing. Um... I-I hate you a-all..." He didn't even put any enmity behind it, something he laughed at. "Man, I'm such a turd. Guess I should go home now."

Selendis nodded. "You parents must be worried sick about you. Don't let them think you've... well..."

The kid nodded. "Heh... In all honesty, how could I hate you three? You've been so kind to me throughout Waterfall. Hope you come back to Snowdin for a visit some time!" The kid turned to run, but tripped and fell off the bridge, barely holding on by the nape of his shirt, which got horrified looks from the humans. "Yo, w-w-wait! Help!"

Frisk shot forward just as Undyne stepped onto the bridge. Selendis and Tenebris shot after her as well, not only to help the poor kid, but also to make sure Undyne didn't pull anything funny. What surprised everyone, including Undyne, was when the kid actually stood up to her to defend the humans after being saved, making the guard back off and leave.

Frisk breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for defending us."

The kid chuckled. "You think I would just let her through to you guys after saving my neck? Anyways, for real this time, see you around Snowdin!" With that, he left for real.

Tenebris smiled. "He, admittedly, is a cute kid."

Selendis rolled her eyes. "Tenebris, don't lie to yourself. You always had a soft-spot for most kids."

"True, very true. My favorite will always be Frisk, though." This got a giggle out of the child.

They knew Undyne had to be further behind them thanks to the monster kid, so they hastened their way out of the area. What caught them off guard was when they saw her standing on a mountain-like entrance to the rest of the cave, which baffled Selendis. "How did she get in front of us?"

Frisk whimpered. "P-perhaps the same way the monster kid managed to catch up with us?"

Tenebris said nothing and silently prepared for the confrontation. As he expected, Undyne started talking when they approached the entrance of the cave. "Seven... seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god. Six... that's how many we have collected thus far."

This horrified the humans. Six others had already came before them... and they all died. Selendis came to yet another horrible realization: the clothes that were seemingly made for human belonged to those that had died down in the Underground.

Undyne turned to them and glared. "Understand? Through one of your souls, this world will be transformed. First, however, as is customary for those who make it this far, I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people." Ignoring their now flat looks- they already knew of the monster's history from the glyphs -she turned to the side. "It all started, long ago..."

She fell silent for a few minutes, with nobody daring to move an inch. "No, you know what? SCREW IT! WHY SHOULD I TELL THAT STORY WHEN YOU'RE ABOUT TO DIE!?"

She let out a battle cry as the humans were inexplicably blinded. Tenebris grunted. "What is this, a too-awesome-to-see epic moment in an anime?"

"Stop implanting crap like that onto real life, Tenebris!" Selendis groaned/growled.

Frisk shook her head as the light receded. "How else can you explain that? Also, I thought Undyne was a deadly serious person. Just from this alone, I can now tell she's not."

"Later Frisk!"

When they looked back up, they saw Undyne had removed her helmet and was now staring intensely down at the trio. "YOU! ALL OF YOU! You're standing in the way of everyone's hopes and dreams! Alphys's history books made me think humans were cool with their giant robots and flowery swordswomen. BUT YOU THREE? Even though one of you can use magic, you're just cowards in the end, hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again!" Frisk wanted to say something, but was cut off by Undyne, which made Tenebris growl. "And let's not forget your wimpy goody-two-shoes-schtick!"

Tenebris returned the favor by cutting her off this time. "Oh, like YOU'RE doing any better! Who was the one who rushed to save that kid? Certainly not YOU!"

Undyne snarled at him. "You punk! You know what would be the most valuable to everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD!" Tenebris winced when he recognized one of the lines that was constantly torturing him while he slept, ever since his parents died. He didn't let it falter his resolve. "That's right, humans! Your continued existence is a crime! Your lives are all that stands between us and our freedom!" She points at them. "Now, let's end this right here, right now. I'll show you how determined monsters can be! Step forward... only if you're ready! Fuhuhuhu!"

Selendis and Frisk fell back a bit, but Tenebris stayed put. "Girls, we've came this far without letting anything else get in our way. We're not about to let this stop us here."

Frisk got back her determination. "He's right. We can't give up now. We'll show her our resolve to get through this, to get through everything anyone throws at us!"

Selendis looked between the two before sighing. "Both of you are crazy... guess that's why I care about you so much. And... I'll admit, you're both right." The humans nodded at each other, though there was a bit of reluctance on Tenebris' part, before stepping forward.

Undyne looked at them with a grin. "That's it, then! No more running away! HERE I-"

"Sorry, gonna disagree with you there." Just as Undyne came down with her spear pointed downwards, Tenebris morphed his shadow claws and hit her behind the humans, which caught her off guard. "Selendis! Frisk! Go, now!"

There was clear hesitation on both parts. "B-but Tenny, what about-"

"This is the only way to do it! She's made it pretty clear that she won't leave us alone. You go on ahead while I deal with her here." Ignoring a now very pissed off guard, he gives them a glare with his shadow eye. "I SAID GO!"

Selendis looked at him for a few seconds longer with clear reluctance, and now fear, before grabbing Frisk's hand and running into the cave with her. When he turned his attention back on Undyne, she had a quizzing look on her face. "So... you don't intend on running, huh? And those two..."

Noticing she was looking past him, Tenebris quickly spawned a deflection barrier to cover the cave mouth. "Sorry, those two are off limits. You'll have to deal with me, now!"

Undyne stared for a bit longer before grinning. "You do intend on fighting. How much do you think this will solve for you? If anything, you gave me an advantage!"

"Truthfully... I'm only fighting to force you back; to make you give up the chase here and now."

She laughs and he stiffens because of it. "That's it? I'll give you some credit, human. Staying behind to give you companions time to flee? That's brave... if not very foolish. I'll admit, I was curious about your ability to use magic for a while. At the end of the day, though, you may have saved them entirely. I only need one soul and yours will do just fine!"

Tenebris get's into a battle position and shouts, "You will not find me easy prey!" before launching himself at her with his shadow claws at ready.

She summoned a spear to block his attack and forced him back before forcing his soul to appear, slightly caught off guard by it's unnatural color. Before he could react, she launched an unavoidable energy wave at it, but was shocked when the soul merely pulsed in response. "WHAT?! You should be green right now!"

Tenebris chuckles as he creates a shadow orb full of scatter-shots. "Sorry to disappoint. Papyrus tried the same thing as you earlier and also failed."

Undyne hums a bit. "So you're immune to soul mode changes, huh? I'll admit, it caught me off guard, but now I think this is more interesting!" She launched herself at him this time and, in his panic, he threw the orb right at her, which she batted away with her spear. When she went in to strike, she found herself in something of a blade-lock with the human's claws before he tried to strike her with his other claw. It connected and, despite the armor negating most of the damage, he managed to slash her a few times before she launched him with a kick.

Tenebris managed to land just fine, enhanced his own jumping ability, and created another shadow orb, though this time he set it in the air and had it fire scatter-shots at the guard. She was able to deflect and dodge all of the bolts before summoning a bunch of spears to send at him, which made him panic again and use deflection barriers to stop them. When she tried rushing him again, she managed to jump back before she got hit with shadowy spikes that rapidly spawned around the human. He tried rushing her in return, but tripped on one of the ground spikes she summoned and wound up getting comboed. He gave her a swift counter and hit her a few times with his own spikes before she jumped away.

It continued like that for a little while until Tenebris huffed. He was starting to feel a bit out of it and removed the barrier that was blocking the cave; it was just becoming an unnecessary drain and he figured the sisters had gotten far enough away. What dismayed the shadow-eyed human was when Undyne laughed. "Okay, I have to hand it to you, punk! I didn't expect such a workout from a human like yourself. Don't get cocky, though. Up until now, I've been testing to see how well you handle yourself. Now... _I get serious!_ "

Tenebris saw an energy fluctuation around her right before she dashed at him again. He barely got a deflection barrier up to block her, but she circumvented the shield and struck him in the side. He didn't fall for it a second time and managed to counter her when she did it again. He started spawning shadow orbs full of shadow bolt shots whenever he had a chance and soon, the battlefield was swamped with bolts flying everywhere. That didn't stop Undyne from constantly being on top of him and they clashed blow for blow many times. Tenebris could barely get a hit in now and the hits he did connect barely phased the determined monster. It was starting to wear on his nerves. After a few more clashes and an attempt at slowing her down with the dark pool, he got hit many times before slamming a fist into the ground out of rage, the flame and mist from his eye becoming very intense along with suddenly gaining some murderous intent. " _ **Now you're pissing me OFF!**_ "

Undyne was about to retort when she stopped dead in her tracks. Hovering behind and above the now pissed human was a massive pitch-black dragon skull with purple eyes. "Wait a minute, is that-" She didn't get to finish when she heard a familiar sound from the skull before it fired a shadowy beam at her with another familiar blasting sound. She managed to barely dodge it, but got singed by the energy radiating off the beam. Tenebris staggered after firing the beam, losing his brief amount of murderous intent and all of his rage in one fell swoop as the mist and flame in his eye died back down. Now he felt uneasy on his legs and resorted to scarfing down a nice cream. It healed some of his wounds and stopped his legs from shaking. He sighed, but was cut off when Undyne elbowed him in the head. He regained some of his aggression and reformed his claws before rushing her again.

They clashed a few times before Tenebris summoned something that caught Undyne off guard again: a shadowy scythe that looked way bigger than him. He jumped at her and clashed with her spear, resulting in proper weapon fights and locks. As he kept trying to catch her off guard with his sweeping motions with his scythe, she noted a change in his facial expression. The human no longer had looks of determination or rage. He was beginning to look desperate, like he wanted to buy as much time as he could. She had just started breaking out into a sweat from the intense combat, but she could tell he was starting to stand on his last legs. Tenebris kept summoning shadowy orbs in futile attempts at catching her off guard and was beginning to feel his magic reserves run dry. _No! I... need to last! To give those two... the best chance at escaping with their lives!_

He no longer cared that his magic reserves were running dry. Recalling how he summoned that dragon head, he managed to start summoning up smaller ones to fire on Undyne, who once again got singed by the energy coming off the beams. It was at this point that his left eye started bleeding from over-exerting his magic and said eye started burning AND stinging. Undyne frowned when she noticed that every attack coming from the human now had a desperate feel to them, like he knew he was going to lose but kept on fighting anyways. At this point she didn't bother attacking, only dodging everything he threw at her. What saddened her was when the attacks slowly became pitiful and the bleeding from his eye, more intense. He looked like he was struggling to keep it open.

When Tenebris just stood there breathing heavily, attempting and failing at magic attacks, and barely able to stand, Undyne shook her head. "That'll be quite enough, human. Admit you lost." She let out a sigh. "It's... unfortunate, really. Your potential with that magic looks limitless and... for someone who's weak and inexperienced, you actually made me break a sweat. If you had been born a monster, you would of been a shoe-in for the title of captain of the royal guard, no questions asked. You... fought with a valor I haven't seen for a long time, ever since I started training Papyrus." She shook her head again as she summoned one spear into her hand. "For your efforts, I'll make this as painless as possible. Forgive me, I'll make sure your soul and body get the proper respect they deserve. Farewell..." She tossed the spear at his head to make it a clean kill and to preserve his soul.

" _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_ " Something shoved Tenebris to the ground, narrowly saving him from the spear. When Undyne did a double-take, she saw what pushed him out of her spear's path: the blond human who had run ahead earlier. The brown haired kid quickly joined them, standing defensively in front of them with what looked like dried tears running down her face.

Tenebris grunted when he saw Selendis scramble to check on him. "What are you doing? I thought I told you to get out of here!"

She gasped at his bleeding eye, barely able to hold back sobs. "Are you stupid?! We're not leaving you behind when we agreed that we're in this together! I refuse to leave you behind, not like this!" He was about to retort when she stuffed her last cinnamon bunny into his mouth, forcing him to chew as she tried to get him off the ground.

Frisk gave Undyne a stubborn look, but was caught off guard when she smiled. "So neither of you truly left him behind, huh? Guess I was wrong about you being cowardly... and, in a way, am glad to be proven such." She suddenly grinned at the humans. "But don't think I'm just going to let you go! I'll chase you until I get at least ONE of your souls! PREPARE YOURSELVES!" She forced the other two humans' souls to appear and managed to successfully make them green, or in Selendis' case, give it a green aura, giving them both shields. "As long as you're green, you can't escape! Unless you learn to face danger head-on, you won't last nowhere near as long as your companion did!"

The sisters realized that their soul was stuck in one place and that they can only pivot around it, with their shield always in front of them. Selendis knew that she wasn't guarding just herself but Tenebris as well, since he was in no condition to be going anywhere. To her relief, Frisk seemed to keep the focus primarily on her, with only an occasional projectile going her way.

They managed to block all of her projectile waves, but Undyne suddenly changed their souls back to normal to fire a normal spear at them. As soon as that happened, they fled with Selendis leading Tenebris by hand, which enraged the guard. "I TAKE BACK WHAT I SAID EARLIER! YOU REALLY ARE COWARDS!"

As Undyne chased them through the caves, Frisk remembered why they came back.

* * *

Selendis and Frisk kept running away from Tenebris and Undyne, not knowing what else to do and hoping Tenebris followed them. Frisk saw the barrier, which told her Tenebris meant to fight her, but Selendis kept running, almost blindly. After a few corners, they stopped in a hall way that had an electronic boards saying "welcome to Hotland!" Selendis collapsed, not from exhaustion but from fear and desperation, and began sobbing. "O-oh... F-Frisk. W-what should I... what should of I done? I... I just left him... just left him behind... behind to die..."

Frisk tried her best to comfort her sister, but was breaking down crying herself. Despite everything they went through with him, they felt like they abandoned him to die at Undyne's hands. They didn't know what to do, only to weep and occasionally hear a distant explosion. They knew they couldn't do anything because of the barrier; they were lost to the thought that Tenebris was lost to them.

They stayed like that for a while until the phone started ringing. When Selendis reluctantly answered it, Papyrus was on the other end. "HEY! WHAT'S U-"

"Pa...Papyrus... what... what should I do..?"

"SELENDIS?! WHAT'S WRONG, WHY ARE YOU CRYING?"

At the skeleton brother's home, Sans' interest was caught when Papyrus suddenly sounded worried. He knew he should of been at the entrance to Hotland, but felt it was not yet necessary. "pap, what's up?"

He heard Selendis speaking on the other side. "T-Tenebris... Undyne was chasing us... challenged us to a battle and... and... he-he told us to continue on, t-to run away while h-he dealt with Undyne! I just... I just abandoned him!"

Sans' look suddenly grew dark. "What is that kid thinking? He knows he doesn't have the training to take on someone like her head on."

Papyrus shot Sans a worried look before asking Selendis, "ARE YOU TWO OKAY AT THE VERY LEAST?!"

Selendis had completely broken down."N-no we're not! We... I just... abandoned him! I-I didn't even t-try to d-dissuade him! I... I'm a horrible person! I'm a coward! A-"

"SELENDIS, LISTEN CLOSELY." Sans gave Papyrus a surprised look. It was the first time he ever heard his brother talk so seriously. "TELL ME, IS THAT HOW YOU TRULY FEEL? THAT YOU JUST ABANDONED HIM?"

"W-well, YES! I-I-"

"OKAY, DO YOU KNOW IF HE IS STILL ALIVE?"

Back at the sister's location, there was brief silence before she sobbed, "I... I don't know!"

"THEN DON'T JUST ASSUME HE'S GONE. IF THERE IS A CHANCE HE'S STILL ALIVE, THEN YOU SHOULD GO FOR IT. YOU SAY YOU'RE A HORRIBLE PERSON? I DON'T THINK SO, BUT IF YOU'RE SO CERTAIN, GO BACK TO HIM. IF YOU CARE THAT DEEPLY FOR HIM, YOU WON'T JUST KEEP GOING WITHOUT HIM. GO BACK FOR HIM, FOR IF THERE IS A CHANCE HE WILL STILL BE ALIVE, YOU SHOULD TRY AND SAVE HIM, NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE CHANCES ARE. FRIENDS DON'T ABANDON FRIENDS JUST SPONTANEOUSLY LIKE THAT, AND I KNOW YOU AND FRISK ARE NOT THAT KIND OF PERSON." When all he was met with sobs, Papyrus sighs. "SELENDIS, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN STILL SAVE HIM, THAT THERE IS STILL TIME.

There was silence when Frisk, cracked by her own crying, nodded to her sister. "H-he's right, S-Selly! We... we can't just leave him! W-we need to go back, back for him!"

Selendis sniffled for a bit before responding, "Y-yeah. You're right, both of you. Papayrus... thank you. I... need to go now." She hung up. Looking at Frisk, she nodded. "We need to go back... back for Tenebris!"

* * *

Frisk shook her head as she continued to run. They needed Papyrus to convince them to go back for Tenebris, but the skeleton was right. True friends never truly left friends behind.

As they ran, with Tenebris occasionally stumbling from extreme fatigue, they re-found the entrance to Hotland and, upon entry, found Sans sleeping at a sentry station. Undyne stopped to stare at Sans, mad he wasn't even awake, before continuing her chase. When the humans reached a water cooler, they heard her start to pant and turned to see her struggling. "Armor... so... hot... but I can't... give up..." She walked a few more steps before collapsing on the ground, beginning to suffer from heat exhaustion.

Tenebris, left eye now closed from the pain, grunted. "It really is very hot here..."

Frisk gave Undyne a look of pity. Despite what she did to them, leaving her here like this would be beyond cruel. Taking a cup from the water cooler, she poured it into Undyne's mouth. Thanks to that, Undyne got back up, looking better but still overheated. She gave the humans a surprised look before giving a resigned sigh and walking away, no longer wanting to pursue those who, truly, didn't deserve to die.

After ascertaining that the danger is no longer present, Selendis started fussing over Tenebris. "You idiot! Why did you tell us to leave you like that?!"

He grunted. "Because I thought I could hold her off or force her into giving up the chase."

"You and I both know full well that you're not ready for that kind of challenge. Oh, no no no, your eye is bleeding badly! You over-exerted yourself!"

Frisk spoke up before Tenebris could retort. "We should head back to Snowdin! Papyrus will know what to do!"

The now-drained human reluctantly agreed, the battle he had with Undyne seemingly made pointless. He was the one who was supposed to be protecting them. Once again, he was the one who had to be protected.

He felt _worthless_


	15. Chapter 15 - Liquid Depression

Just warning you guys, this chapter contains coarser language than normal. Also, depression and existential crises warnings are present as well. If that doesn't sit well with you, turn back now. Otherwise, please tell me how I did.

* * *

Both Selendis and Frisk were glad that there was a quick way back to Snowdin from Hotland, thanks to information provided by some royal guards that didn't notice that they were human. However, Tenebris stayed silent for the whole trip to Snowdin, slowly losing a battle of self-worth.

He wanted to protected them. They are everything to him and he wanted to protect what he held dear. But in the end, he was the one who had to be protected, the one to be saved like a sick kitten. He was the one what was too weak in the end; that the battle was meaningless because of his weakness. Because of all of this, his depression was coming back with a vengeance, and he's completely clammed up. Selendis assumed that it was because of how tired and in pain he was.

When they reached the backs of Snowdin, they immediately rushed to the house of the skeleton brothers. Papyrus happened to be leaving when they stopped in front of it. "WELL, HEY! DID YOU MANAGE-" He cut himself off when he saw the condition Tenebris was in. "INSIDE, QUICKLY!"

When Tenebris was put on the couch, Papyrus immediately put a hand over the human's still bleeding left eye and it started glowing with magic. Tenebris felt his eye slowly start feeling better, no longer stinging like there was a thousand needles stuck in it. It also, seemingly, restored some of his magic back, but it didn't help his slowly worsening mood. If anything, getting help like this drove him further into the back of his mind.

Selendis looked curious. "You know healing magic, Papyrus?"

"YES! IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY UNDYNE WANTS ME IN THE ROYAL GUARD. BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT. HOW ARE YOU FEELING, TENEBRIS?"

"Huh? Oh, uh... I'm fine. Just... thinking about things. Thanks for the... heal, Papyrus." He looked to the side, a bit of sadness in his eyes, and didn't see Selendis' look of disbelief.

Papyrus didn't register the melancholy in Tenebris' voice. "NOT A PROBLEM! NOW WHERE DID SANS GO OFF TO WHEN WE HAVE GUESTS?"

"right here, bro." Frisk yelped as Sans appeared right behind her. "had to go do something quick."

Selendis sighed. "Weren't you at the entrance to Hotland, sleeping?"

Papayrus looked outraged. "SLEEPING ON THE JOB AGAIN?! IF UNDYNE SAW YOU DOING THAT, YOU WOULD BE FIRED!"

"She did see him, while she was chasing us." Frisk stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

Papyrus looks at Sans with his jaw hanging open from shock. Sans simply shrugged. "hey, don't worry about it. i'm sure she'll give me another pass again. after all, i 'was' on job rather than off the job."

"YOU USED THAT SAME EXCUSE LAST TIME! AND THE ONES BEFORE THAT! HOW DO YOU MANAGED TO KEEP YOUR JOB?!"

"that's for me to know and for you to find out." Papyrus facepalmed with a loud groan while Selendis shook her head. Frisk giggled, but Sans noticed that Tenebris didn't even react. Looking over at the shadow-eyed human, he thought he saw encroaching despair forming on his face, worrying the skeleton.

"ANYWAYS, BROTHER. I WAS THINKING THAT THE HUMANS NEED SOME REST AFTER SUCH A TRYING TIME. PERHAPS WE CAN ACCOMMODATE THEM SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO SLEEP IN THAT INN?"

Sans rolled his eyes. "hey, that's fine with me. after all, no reason for them not to 'drop on inn'."

Selendis groaned. "I'm seriously considering the hotel now. Sounds better than having to deal with Sans' puns; I get them enough from Tenebris."

Tenebris snapped to attention from hearing his name. Now that he thought about it more, he didn't want anybody noticing his encroaching depression getting worse. "Aw come on, Selendis. Where's your 'funny bone'?"

"TENEBRIS, WE DON'T NEED YOU JOINING IN AS WELL!"

Tenebris forced a grin. "Come on, Papyrus, why so 'sternum'? I'm just 'ribbing' you guys." Papyrus let out an anguished cry and Selendis took her turn facepalming while Frisk was trying, and failing, to hold back her laughter. "What's the matter? Don't you find this bone-punnary... humerus?"

Selendis pointed at Tenebris. "That's it, you're sleeping outside tonight!"

Sans rolled his eyes. "aw come on, selendis. can't you see he's on 'femur'?" He tried his best to say it naturally without wavering. He could tell Tenebris just slipped on a 'mask' and was trying to cover... something up.

Papyrus let out a heavy sigh. "TO BE FAIR, IT IS REMINDING ME OF HOW WE MET. SANS AND TENERBIS ARE SO SIMILAR, I'D BE SUSPICIOUS IF THEY WEREN'T MAKING BAD JOKES AND PUNS." That signaled to Tenebris that his facade was working... which oddly deepened his depression even further.

Selendis hummed. "I doubt it, sometimes, but I have to agree with you. I can't really put a permanent stop to them from Tenebris because Frisk likes his puns."

Frisk giggled and elbowed her sister. "Selly, are you sure you don't 'secretly' like Tenny's' puns? I always see a ghost of a smile whenever he makes one."

"Ex-CUSE me, I beg to differ. Besides, How can you see it if it's a ghost of a-" She covered her face and let out a muffled groan of agony.

Tenebris gave her a shaky thumbs up. "I'm so proud of you, Selendis!"

"SHUT UP!"

Papyrus nervously clapped his hands together. "RIGHT, WE SHOULD GET YOU THREE ACCOMMODATED! THE ONLY THING I CAN'T FIGURE OUT YET IS WHERE EVERYONE IS SLEEPING."

After a tour of the house, save for Sans' room, and the shed, nothing definitive was set for sleeping arrangements. Papyrus had another run-in with the white dog that 'stole' his special attack during his battle with the humans, earning a trombone from Sans and Papyrus yelling, "STOP PLAGUING MY LIFE WITH INCIDENTAL MUSIC!"

After a bit, Sans got up from the couch. "welp, i'm going to grillby's."

Papyrus looked dismayed. "AGAIN? I'M ABOUT TO MAKE SPAGHETTI FOR DINNER. DON'T TELL ME YOU PLAN ON EATING THERE!"

"nah, bro. just figured i'd go see if there's been anything new going on in the underground."

Tenebris hesitated for a moment before saying, "A-actually.. Sans, mind if I join you?"

"NOT YOU TOO, TENEBRIS!"

Selendis gave him an odd look. "Why do you want to go there when Papyrus offered us a meal?"

"I figured I could discuss my next level of training with Sans while there. It worked out well the last time we discussed it there, so why fix what's not broken?" In truth, he just wanted some distance from the sisters, some room to breath and maybe try and filter out his depression before it got too bad. It was still worsening, and his facade wasn't helping his case.

Sans had to resist smiling a bit wider. He knew Tenebris would take this chance to go somewhere else, where there wouldn't be many prying eyes or ears and he wanted to know what was devouring the human's conscience. "that sounds about fine with me and don't worry, pap. i'll make sure he has an empty stomach for dinner."

Papyrus looked torn as the sisters looked at each other, wondering if it was alright. "FINE, YOU WIN. JUST DON'T COME HOME TOO LATE. I KNOW TENEBRIS ABSORBS HIS TRAINING FASTER THAN JERRY CAN MAKE MONSTERS FLEE, WHY THAT IS I DON'T KNOW, BUT THAT'S NO EXCUSE TO BOONDOGGLE."

"i know, i know. see you in a little bit, then." With that, Sans and Tenebris left the house and wandered over to Grillby's. When they arrived, the only other person besides Grillby himself was the Greater Dog, who seemed to be focused on a crossword of sorts. Grillby gave them an odd look, but didn't comment.

After getting seated, an awkward silence sprung up between the human and the skeleton. Tenebris tried to force down his depression before nerviously saying, "S-so, about t-that train-"

"Buddy, tell me what's eating at you." Tenebris recoiled when he heard Sans' serious voice. It didn't sound scary, but he knew what it meant. "You were clammed up when you first went into my house and I could tell you put up a facade to fool the sisters. You didn't want them to worry... but I can tell they're worried regardless." Silence once again sprung between the two. Sans looked at the human out of the corner of his eye and saw an incredibly conflicted face.

Tenebris finally sighed. "Grillby, give me a drink, the strongest thing you have on hand..." He knew he was underage and that he had lost his family to it. But he knew that Sans had him cornered and he really, REALLY didn't want to talk about it. He needed a drink... he needed something, anything, to ease the pain that had been torturing him ever since he was rescued. When he saw Grillby's hesitation, he gave the fire monster a hard glare before he relented and slid a drink in front of the human.

Sans was taken aback. "whoa, buddy. i know we aren't supposed to eat anything, but-" He cut himself short when Tenebris downed the drink in one go before coughing harshly from how it burned going down. Sans knew that he was already too late to stop the human; monster alcohol acted to monsters as human alcohol did to humans. Monster alcohol mainly spreads throughout the monster's magic to achieve intoxication, but when a human, let alone a human with magic concentrated in his soul, drinks monster alcohol, he stands little chance.

One drink, and Tenebris was already blushing and unstable from intoxication.

Sans knew Selendis and Papyrus were going to kill him for this, so he decided to take advantage of the situation. "Seriously, buddy, what happened to drive you to the point of drinking alcohol?"

He got silence again and both him and Grillby exchanged worried looks. They gave a start when Tenebris suddenly said, "H.. hey... Sans... tell me... what's... what's the point in working hard?"

"huh? what are you talking about?"

"What's the point... in doing anything..? Nothing... nothing ever **_fucking matters!_** " Sans recoiled when Tenebris slammed the counter in a rage, which got the Greater Dog's attention as well. "What's the point when all that comes out of it is **_failure?! TELL ME!_** "

Sans backed away a bit, the human's eye pouring out mist and fire. "w-whoa, p-please calm down, bu-"

The fire in Tenebris' eye intensified even more. " _ **Don't**_ you 'buddy' me, you fucking skeleton! YOU weren't the one who was treated like a **_fucking lab rat!_** YOU aren't the one who's treated like a **_cosmic plaything!_** I worked for a goal, I expended all of my energy and put my life for a purpose. For what?! For a **_f_** _ **ucking failure?! Is that all I'm destined to achieve is failure?!**_ "

Sans connected the dots from the 'lab rat' part. Now he knew why Tenebris had his magic, though he would of preferred learning about it from a sober Tenebris. "W-what brought all of this-"

"HAH! Of course you wouldn't know! You wouldn't know what it's like to have a wish to protect those you care about! **_You wouldn't know what it's like to try and protect and save, only to be the one protected by those you wanted to protect!_** For everything I did, none of it ever fucking mattered in the end!" Tenebris gave Sans a hard, soul-piercing glare.

What caught the skeleton off guard even more was when the human's face slowly softened and he let out a chocked sob, the purple fire instantly dying out. "None of it mattered to them. I... I wanted to protect them... I was the one who had the power to do so... but it didn't matter in the end. For all my power, I may as well of been an unneeded extra." His sobs got more intense. "W-what's the point in my existence? N-nothing... nothing ever mattered. F-for all my worth, I could of been non-existent and nothing would of changed. They would of been able to save themselves... saved themselves from a danger they had to save me from..."

Sans was even more horrified than when Tenebris was in a rage. He was breaking down and having an existential crisis. The worst part? He was correct; Sans knew he was an anomaly in the time-line, meaning that he was right about whatever just happened. "c-come on, buddy. don't think like that. don't think your existence is meaningless."

"Stop lying to me! Nothing... I'm a nothing... that's... that's all I am in the end: a worthless nobody!" Tenebris sobbed a bunch more times, clear and dark purple tears beginning to fall, before he shook his head pitifully. "Why... why create when it'll only be destroyed. W-why cling to life... knowing... knowing that you have to die? None of it... none of it will have meant anything once you... once you do."

Sans remained silent. This was worse than one of his fits of depression and they're merely about his knowledge of this time-loop they seem to be eternally stuck in. Sans wasn't surprised when Grillby walked around the counter and sat down with Tenebris, who had put his head into his arms and started crying. "Talk to me. I am here for you. All of us are."

Tenebris gave Grillby a surprised look before looking at Sans, who nodded and put his hand on his shoulder. When he heard a whine, he looked back to see a very sad Greater Dog, who had exited his armor and was nuzzling his leg, trying to reassure him. The human broke down sobbing again. "Sorry... I'm sorry..."

They stayed like that until the sobbing ceased and there was only silence from Tenebris. Sans let out a sigh. "i'll... get this kid home. sorry about that, grillby." He got a nod and the fire monster went back around the counter before motioning that he wouldn't charge for the drink. Sans nodded in thanks before tapping Tenebris. "c'mon, bud. let's get you back. you need rest." The human merely nodded and let Sans carry him via piggy-back, like Papyrus always did for him whenever he got drunk. Sans quickly found out that Tenebris was very light for a human his size, which only worried him further.

When they exited Grillby's, it had started snowing which gave the town a very melancholy feel. As he slowly walked towards his house, Sans wondered how the sisters would react to Tenebris being drunk... or to his existential crisis. If he was honest with himself, they were the only ones who can help him through his feelings of worthlessness.

When he got to his house, he realized he couldn't open the door by himself. Grunting, he gave the door a few kicks and hoped Papyrus would answer. His hope came true. "WHO'S THERE- SANS, WHAT HAPPENED?"

Sans sighed. "this kid managed to get his hands on some alcohol and... well... it's kinda a long story." He could hear Selendis fussing over Frisk in the dining room, meaning that they didn't hear their return. Papyrus looked at Tenebris, who had a dead-to-the-world 50-yard stare that was topped by an intoxicated blush, and sighed before letting them in. Sans, thankful that Papyrus wasn't asking questions yet, put the drunk human onto the sofa, where he merely sat there, staring forward.

Papyrus inhaled a shaky breath. "S-SANS... CAN... I ASK WHAT'S GOING ON? THIS... ISN'T RIGHT AT ALL..."

Before Sans could respond, Frisk came out into the living room to see what was going on and to escape her sister's fussing over her manners. She stopped dead when she saw Tenebris in his current condition. "T-T-Tenny?"

Selendis came out upon hearing Frisk's worried voice and gasped when she beheld Tenebris. "Sans, what happened? I thought you two simply went to Grillby's?"

"we did. thing is... well he got his hands on some monster alcohol and... this is the result. i stayed by him to make sure he didn't fly off the handle but... well, he did, but not in the way i was expecting."

Now Selendis looked livid. "What are you talking about? Do you realize he's underage?!"

Sans sighed. "you'd undertand if you heard the full story. thing is... i would say you should hear it from tenebris, but... well, as you can see, he's... clammed up now..."

Papyrus gave Tenebris a discerning look. "THIS IS... UNSETTLINGLY SIMILAR TO WHENEVER YOU HAVE ONE OF YOUR DEPRESSED DRUNKEN RAGES, RIGHT DOWN TO THAT VACANT STARE."

The sisters gave Sans a horrified stare as he nods. "that's... the abridged version of it. thing is, pap, anything you heard about my depressed attitude when i'm drunk? tenebris... is far deeper sunk into his depression than i would ever be." Papryus gave Sans a stunned stare.

"B-but... why? H-he was just fine before you guys left." Selendis was grasping at straws at this point. She knew Tenebris was troubled by something earlier, but she didn't think it was too serious.

Sans shook his head. "it... has something to do with you two, i have to be blunt." He didn't know how to tell them the situation when he remembered something. "perhaps an echo flower could help?"

Papyrus looked confused for a second until realization flashed across his face and bolted out the door. This didn't register with the sisters, with Frisk trying to get a reaction out of Tenebris, though Selendis was curious. "How... will an echo flower help?"

"well, you already know how they work as flowers, right? thing is, if you boil the flower into a tea and have someone drink it, they'll run through what they said and done within the hour. it's the only way i can think of to get tenebris to talk." Sans shook his head again as he looked at Frisk, who looked like she was about to break down herself. "papyrus used one to find out that i was in a depressed rage after having to pick me up from grillby's, hence why he knows about it."

Selendis merely looked at Tenebris with immense worry in her eyes. Papyrus burst through the door again and headed into the kitchen and soon after, there was a whistling of a tea kettle. Papyrus brought out a mug with echo flower tea inside. "H-HERE, TENEBRIS. MAYBE THIS MIGHT HELP YOU FEEL BETTER?"

Tenebris nodded numbly and, to everyone's shock, downed the whole mug in one go. He coughed harshly before looking down. The sisters jumped when he suddenly started saying, "H.. hey... Sans... tell me... what's... what's the point in working hard?"

Sans sighed as he managed to bleep out the curse words that flew out of a re-enraged Tenebris, more so for Frisk rather than Papyrus. Papyrus already knew curse words because of his own echo tea moments, but Frisk didn't need to know.

During Tenebris' rage, the sisters looked horrified. They've never seen him so... angry in the time they have known him. What horrified them even more was when he dropped his rage... and delved into his existential crisis. The fact that he wanted to protect them, yet they protected him instead. His only measure of self-worth is his ability to protect them, yet he feels he failed miserably and question the reason behind his own existence before saying some downright nihilistic things.. Frisk wanted to comfort Tenebris, to tell him that wasn't the case and that things would be different without him. Everybody looked shocked when Tenebris had just ended his nihilistic quotes.

Right after he was done, Selendis smacked him across the face. That broke him out of his echo tea state and he gave Selendis a tear-filled stare full of hurt. She trembled as she gritted her teeth. "You... you idiot! You were trying to protect us? That may of been true, but after everything is said and done, you were simply throwing your life away! That's not protecting us at all! You protected us from Undyne, but you failed to do so against something that would hurt us more than Undyne could ever hope to accomplish! What did you hope to gain from needlessly sacrificing yourself like that?!"

Tenebris looked away, tears still welling up in his eyes. Selendis looked down, trembling even more. "Tenebris... please... don't treat your life like it's expendable, like it holds no meaning. Frisk and I... we care about you. You... you're family to us. We couldn't of just left you behind like that. We couldn;t live with ourselves if we just left you to die like that." Now she had tears in her eyes as she gave him a stern look. "Please... don't treat your existence like that. We care about your existence. I... we don't want to imagine what it's like without you down here with us. Your existence means something... you mean something to us."

Tenebris looked back just as Frisk gave him a hug, crying her eyes out. "P-please, Tenny. D-don't think about yourself like that... not ever again!"

Tenebris couldn't handle it anymore as he started to full on cry again. "I'm sorry... I'm so... sorry... please... forgive me..." Selendis drew him and Frisk into her own hug, trying to comfort them.

Sans and Papyrus looked at the scene with soft smiles on their faces. They nodded at each other; they were family and that's how it should be. Papyrus' attention was brought away from the scene when he heard a knock at the front door and answered it, only to be shocked by Undyne's presence. "O-OH... H-HI, UNDYNE..."

Undyne caught a glimpse of the trio of humans she confronted a little while ago and shook her head. "So you took those three in, huh?"

"I-I CAN EXPLAIN-"

"Just come with me, you noodle head. I originally just wanted to affirm something with you, but now I want to talk to you about something."

Payprus looked at the group nervously before exiting the house to join Undyne. "S-SO WHAT DID YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT?"

Undyne sighed. "Don't be nervous, Papyrus. I'm no longer after those three. Seeing them like that in your house... I don't want to tear any of them apart from each other now." She gives a small laugh. "It's funny... despite all my attempts at their lives, they still saved me from certain death." Undyne looks back at Papyrus. "I need to ask, though: what do you think of Tenebris?"

Papyrus looked surprised. "WELL... HE ACTS FAIRLY SIMILARLY TO SANS, YET IT WOULD BE UNFAIR TO CALL THEM EXACTLY THE SAME. THING IS, TENEBRIS SEEMS TO BE LIKE ME IN A WAY. HE PUTS HIS MIND TOWARDS SOMETHING AND DOES HIS BEST TO ACHIEVE IT. IF HE FAILS AT SOMETHING HE VOWED TO DO, HE PUNISHES HIMSELF HARSHLY."

Undyne nodded. "So that's what that was all about. Heh... it's funny how much you learn about someone by fighting them and because of that, I agree with you. Thing is, when he fought me, he wasn't fighting 100%; he was holding back like he merely wanted to force me back. He's the first person in a while besides you, Papyrus, who made me break out into a sweat first time we ever fought."

Papyrus gave her a shocked look. "REALLY?! HE'S TAKING SANS' TRAINING AND HE HAS ONLY FINISHED HIS NOVICE TRAINING! HE'S YET TO CLEAR INTERMEDIATE OR ADVANCED!"

Undyne deadpanned. "Wow, Sans actually doing something? Besides that, the kid was that inexperienced? Ah, well... it's for a good cause, so I won't dock him for it." She shook her head. "But I'm willing to bet that, by those other two protecting him, he took a massive blow to his pride and... will to live. He thinks that our battle was made entirely pointless from that alone."

"HOW DID YOU-"

"I just have a feeling. If there's anything I want you to say to him in my place, it's this: he should be proud to have such great friends, friends who are willing to go back for him."

"UNDYNE... YOU..."

She laughs. "I know it must be really out of character for me to be saying all of this. Thing is, I'm an honorable warrior first and foremost. I respect those humans after everything that's happened. Unfortunately, I can't call anybody off in the rest of Hotland, so be sure to warn them about that, okay?"

Papyrus nods happily and Undyne bids him good-bye. When he went back into the house, he saw Tenebris now sleeping on the couch with Selendis stroking his head and Frisk holding his hand. She motions for him to be quiet and he nods before whispering, "YOU TWO CAN SLEEP IN MY ROOM. I DON'T SLEEP MUCH ANYWAYS, SO IT WORKS OUT." The sisters nod before Frisk lets out a yawn. Selendis leads her upstairs to go to bed after such a trying day.

Sans taps Papyrus on the arm. "tenebris fell asleep not long after undyne dragged you outside. what did she want, anyways?"

"SHE JUST WANTED MY OPINION ON TENEBRIS AND TO TELL ME THAT SHE WON'T BE AFTER THEM ANYMORE."

"that's good. i'll watch over them for now, especially tenebris. while i get the feeling this isn't the first time he's broken down like that, i scincerely hope his soul starts healing. nobody should ever have to go through existential crisis's like that."

Papyrus nodded before covering Tenebris with a blanket and patting him on the head. He wish with all of his soul that the trio of humans can truly find their peace within each other.


	16. Chapter 16: Dark Secrets and Training

When Tenebris woke up, he had a mild headache from the hangover he was experiencing as a result of him attempting to drown his depression. However, he recalled how the events of last night(?) unfolded and sighed. Once again, he let the sisters down, but he knew this time that moping about it is no use. If he truly wished to protect them, he can't let things like that get him down. "Why was I being so stupid?" He whispered to himself. Now he kept wondering why he let his mood take a foul turn when he should of been more appreciative about the rescue.

As he got off the couch, a little unstable, he found Selendis approaching from upstairs. She gave him a worried look and he shook his head. "Selendis, I... hell... thanks, for everything."

She smiles cutely. "As long as you remember and understand. Don't worry us like that again, okay?" She went into the kitchen, not noticing a new blush on Tenebris' face from her smile and soft words.

"you feeling alright, bud?" Sans walked over, looking like he just woke up himself. "you gave us all quite a fright last night."

"Sorry about that, Sans. And sorry about losing it on you. It's... not my best mind-set, I'll say that much."

Sans shook his head. "it's fine. you were having a pretty rough time of it, so i'll let it slide. outside of your bad times, you have a certain... 'integrity' to you, as weird as it sounds. it does show you're dedicated to what you set your mind to it, even if you punished yourself too harshly over it."

Tenebris chuckled. "I suppose that's true. Though I'm wondering how willing you are to give me my intermediate training after that performance."

Sans snorted as Frisk slowly came downstairs as well, rubbing sleep away from her eyes. "you kidding? in that regard, your dedication reminds me too much of papyrus for me to say no. besides, i'm genuinely curious about how much you can do with your magic."

"And here I thought I was mostly like you." Tenebris waved to Frisk, who rushed into a hug with him. "Hey, kid. Sorry to worry you so much last night."

She looks up at him. "A-are you alright now?"

"I'm... not sure, to be truthful. However, I think I'll be alright; I do have you, Selendis, Sans, and Papyrus after all." Sans smiled a little wider at this.

Frisk looks at him with worry in her eyes. "Just... promise me you won't let things like this torture you like last night. If you're concerned or conflicted over something, anything, let us know."

Tenebris kisses her on the top of her head. "I promise. Perhaps I just need a bit more determination and kindness to help me get through it." That got a light-hearted giggle from Frisk, who knew what he was talking about. "Now go help your sister; I think she's making breakfast." She nodded and rushed after Selendis. Tenebris shook his head. "Though somehow I doubt I'll feel any fuller than I do now after breakfast."

Sans flinched. "oh... yeah i completely forgot about that. monster food is primarily made of magic, meaning that none of it is wasted when consumed, yet... leaves little room for actual physical matter."

"That explains why it heals us. But why don't I feel any fuller after consuming it, despite feeling like I got an energy boost?"

"i'm willing to be that it has to do with... nutrition? your food seems to be composed of physical matter like you humans and that your food contains the stuff you actually need to survive."

Tenebris gasped. "That explains the rest of it! Monster food may have energy we can use, but it doesn't have anything to stick to us or to support our more physical-based bodies. Because of that, we can eat as much monster food as we want and never feel full." He thought for a moment then laughed. "Talk about getting your money's worth at an all-you-can-eat buffet, though."

Sans burst into laughter as Selendis rounded the corner. "That sounds about right. Sadly, I doubt there's much edible physical matter down here." She shook her head. "Still, despite not getting any true nutritional value out of it, we probably should still eat something. Breakfast is ready."

Frisk peaked out of the kitchen. "Where's Papyrus?"

Sans chuckled a bit. "he went to undyne's house for 'cooking lessons'. he wanted me to let you guys know that undyne won't be chasing you ever again; she said so last night. i'm also supposed to warn you that when you three do reach hotland, there will still be royal guards and monsters that might still attack you as she will be unable to call them off."

Selendis nodded. "I guess by us saving her life, we gained enough respect from her to manage that." Tenebris simply nodded as well.

Breakfast was simply pancakes with syrup. Selendis admitted that she didn't really find anything else to make for the meal and went with it, but it was enough for everyone involved.

Tenebris nodded to Sans. "Think we should get my intermediate training out of the way?"

"eh... why not? will you girls be joining us again?"

Selendis was about to nod when Frisk shook her head. "I was going to look for a book in the library called Elements: The Magic Of Spirit. We were told it would have information about shadow magic... or as the monsters of old called it, the magic of darkness."

Sans deadpanned. "i never thought of looking in there... then again, i wouldn't because their selection is pretty small. since a book like that is here, think we can hold off our training until we go through it, tenebris?"

Tenebris shrugged. "If it helps, then I don't see a problem with it. Besides, it would be reassuring to know just what I'm using and if it's potentially dangerous... as much as I keep my stance that darkness isn't always evil."

Selendis poked him with a small giggle. "It's the person who uses power that's evil, not the power itself, right? I have full confidence that you are not a bad person, Tenebris." He recoiled a bit before sighing and nodding. The fact that she still trusts him after last night's fiasco still astonished him to a degree.

It didn't take long for the group to find the book, with the librarian commenting that while it was a popular read a while back, it has fallen off the radar in the public eye for a while. Despite the age, it was still in good condition. Bringing it back to the house, everyone gathered around as Tenebris opened the book.

"Alright, let's see here... 'The magic of spirit is composed of two different halves: light and darkness. In function, the two are similar save for visual differences and some differences to how they are strengthened. The majority of the users of the magic of light show or 'vent' their power through a magic brand on their hand that constantly emits light. Users of the magic of darkness commonly have their left eye emitting a dark mist with either a magic fire or straight light emitting from the iris.'"

Frisk frowned. "You said that the scientists kept infusing your soul with magic through your eye. Did they somehow..."

Sans lessened his smile. "i wouldn't doubt that records like this book were preserved on the surface. if i had to wager a guess, it's the very reason why they tried the infusions to begin with."

Tenebris and Selendis frowned. "The real question is how they managed to get their hands on such magic."

"for some reason, i don't even want to know." Tenebris shrugged and kept reading.

"'Combined, the two magics make up two halves of spirit, something the soul of every living creature, human and monster, contains. This is the base behind both positive and negative emotions, though scholars have concluded that light doesn't solely give positive emotions and darkness negative. Because of this similarity, however, there have been cases of users of both magics of spirit succumbing to powerful negative emotions. When this happens, light users' normally yellow magic becomes a dark blue and darkness' purple/dark purple becomes dark red. The process of the magics succumbing to these strong negative emotions... this has been dubbed: Magic Corruption.'"

Selendis shivered. "Does that mean that Tenebris can be corrupted? What about last night?"

Frisk shook her head. "Ironically, I don't think depression is a strong enough emotion for it to happen. I'm willing to bet that it's _hatred_ that does it."

Sans nodded grimly. "hatred is a very strong emotion. so strong, it actually makes us monsters _weaker_ if we're confronted by someone filled with hatred, as the magic that composes us is based on love and compassion. both are utterly destroyed by hatred, whereas something like depression isn't strong or lasting enough."

Tenebris winced. "That's... not a pleasant thought. Still, I might as well keep reading. 'when users of either light or darkness succumb to Magic Corruption, they become shadows of their former selves, no longer able to comprehend anything positive or good and dedicated to destroying those who do. Magic Corruption is a gradual process: those beginning to be affected by it will show signs of such corruption. I.E: a user of the magic of darkness having their dark purple iris slowly turn dark red. It is possible to prevent total corruption in this state, but once the corruption process is complete, there is no current methods of reversing such corruption; death becomes the only mercy to offer.'" He winced again as he read that last line. "Well that's freaking wonderful..."

"C-can we move on to the magic of darkness itself, now? I-I don't like that topic anymore." Frisk whimpered. The very thought of Tenebris becoming corrupted like that was draining her determination.

"Frisk, have a little more faith in me. Besides, I got you guys to keep me in like if something like that happens, as slim as the chances may be." Tenebris ruffled her hair, which refilled her determination again.

"still... disquieting that there is no known cure for magic corruption." Sans shuddered from the shadow of a memory he couldn't remember. "i... don't like it when death is the only mercy."

Selendis nodded somberly. "I agree... but like this book implies, sometimes death is the only mercy we have left..."

Tenebris started flipping pages awkwardly. "Well that took a somber turn, let's move on!" After finding the section on the magic of darkness he blanched. "Well... crap, the trauma doesn't... end there- ignoring that!" He had read one thing from that section that greatly disturbed him: 'While users of the corrupted magic of light become dangerously cold and calculating, users of corrupted magic of darkness aren't as lucky. They become berserkers full of blood-lust and attacking anyone and anything with horrifying, corrupted variants of the normal magic of darkness. Because of the overwhelming power that starts coursing through them, they become hell-spawn-like creatures known as 'Beasts'. The longer a Beast is kept alive, the more dangerous it becomes.'

He found the section they had been looking for to begin with. As they went through it, Sans was surprised that his basic training, and indeed all segments of the training, were very similar to what was detailed in the book, with some additional things he didn't know. Sans decided to take the book with him as he and Tenebris went out to the fields of Snowdin for training, with Selendis and Frisk tagging along as usual, though Snowdrake, Icecapp, Monster Kid, and the Dogi decided to watch as well.

Sans sighed as he observed the small crowd they had gathered. "guess we're putting on a show for these folks. alright, let's see if you remember what you learned last time first as a warm-up."

The warm-up went without a hitch, but Tenebris caught Sans with an awkward statement. "I've... actually done a couple of things that you never taught me, one of which isn't covered in that book."

"oh? let's see the one the book covers first." Tenebris nodded and summoned his scythe, much to the awe of most of the crowd except for the sisters, who wondered why he used such a weapon. Sans on the other hand was suddenly glad he never has to fight Tenebris seriously; he's one of the few monsters who dodge, but he always side-steps when he dodges. Against a sweeping weapon like a scythe, he stands little to no chance.

What brought back some of his jolly mood was when Tenebris started swinging the weapon around awkwardly, clearly showing he's had no weapons training in anything. "nice blade-on-a-stick, but... shouldn't you, y'know, learn how to properly use it? besides, how did you fight undyne with it?"

Dissipating the scythe, Tenebris scratches his head. "I... guess it was a heat-of-the-moment, temporarily acquired ability. Now that I'm thinking about it, I've never swung a melee weapon before, not counting that fight." He deadpanned when he saw Sans get off the phone so suddenly. "Uh, who are you talking to?"

"oh, just somebody who can help now. while we're waiting, care to show me what you've managed that's not in the manual?" Tenebris nodded and focused for a little bit by closing his eyes. Recalling how he did it, he opened his left eye, which flared up with mist and fire, lifted both his hands upwards and summoned two black dragon skulls with glowing purple eyes.

Sans stood there stunned and the crowd 'oohed' at them. Selendis was a bit unnerved, but was trying to contain herself; she loved dragons of all varieties. Frisk, on the other hand, felt very disturbed at the mere sight of them. She, for some reason, felt her 'sins' crawling down her back, even though she's clean as far as she's aware.

Sans recovered and the lights in his eye-sockets suddenly disappeared as he gave Tenebris a dead-serious stare that made the shadow-eyed human break out into a cold sweat. " **Where did you learn to do that?** "

"I-I-I seriously don't know! During the fight, I felt a sudden surge of murderous intent and... it felt so _natural_ summoning my first one, which was far bigger than the two I've got here."

Sans' eye-sockets were still dark, but now it was with worry. He wondered about his own ability to summon Gaster Blasters and if he managed to gain them through similar conditions. "so... you say the only reason why you now know how to... summon those was through a surge of murderous intent?"

Tenebris nodded nervously, still sweating coldly. "Y-yeah. After I fired it, not only did all of said intent disappear, but my rage and a fair chunk of my magic as well. I guess because it's because it was so big, but when I started going down-right spam-happy with these smaller ones, it quickly depleted what magic I had left." He thought for a moment before cringing. "D-don't tell me these things are some sort of forbidden magic or something like that!"

Sans' eyes reappeared as he shot a glance at the book. It did mention that users of the magic of darkness can use negative emotions like rage and sadness to fuel magic attacks and make them far stronger by burning said negative emotions. "nah, they aren't forbidden, just that nobody can use 'em outside of a very select few. care to shoot them? i want to see if they really are what i think they are." Tenebris frowned, but then pointed his hand into the sky and the skulls fired upwards. Sans recognized the sound, but realized that it sounded 'heavier' than his own, like Tenebris' blasters packed more of a punch. "ah, i see. thing is, i said only a select few can use 'em? well..." He summons his own blasters, which Frisk outright and subconsciously cringed at, much to Selendis' confusion. "me and my bro can use 'em as well. before you ask, he doesn't like using 'em because he finds them too powerful and scary."

Tenebris looked at Sans' skull. "Outside of the white color and blue eyes, they look exactly the same. I wonder if your energy rubbed off on me to the point where I could manifest my own?"

"possible. i call these things gaster blasters. since yours will probably be different in more ways than just a color swap, why don't you name them?"

"Hmm... how about Umbra Blasters... and yes I know, I'm not creative with names."

Sans chuckled. "nah, it's fine. both are blasters, so some consistency helps. anyways, let's see just how different they are."

After firing a few from both sides, Sans realized pinned the differences down. In terms of actual damage in HP, his Gaster Blaster ignores INV by dealing 1 hp of damage per millisecond and deals Karmic Retribution. Tenebris' Umbra Blaster still deals more overall damage at once while ignoring DEF and deals a small amount of 'burn' damage even if dodged. Sans can tell, however, that it consumes far more magic than his blaster, though this is somewhat mitigated by his unexpectedly and rather deep magic reserves; now he knows how Tenebris lasted so long against Undyne.

Another set of key differences are the blasters themselves. Sans' don't cost any to summon, but he can't do anything with them other than fire or move them around. Tenebris' has a small magic cost to summon, but can do more than just fire and move; it can actually tackle anything he sics it on for admittedly fast and 'unavoidable' damage; perfect for forcing anyone back. On top of everything, Tenebris' largest blaster is twice as big as Sans' biggest blaster, but the magic cost of the blast increases exponentially as he increases the size, whereas Sans doesn't have that problem.

The skeleton lets out a huff. "well... quite a few differences, actually. suppose it's a good thing; don't want folks thinking you ripped me off." Looking to the side, he smiles wider. "ah, looks like the help i called for earlier has arrived."

"Who did you call any-"

"So you're the one Sans called about for weapons training?!" All three humans froze at the voice. Before Tenebris could even turn to the direction, he felt himself get caught in a head-lock by Undyne. "I can't see how you need any training in that regard, but if that's the case, I will comply for the benefit of bringing up another potent warrior!"

Tenebris started turning blue from the lock and Sans deadpanned. "uh, undyne, you might wanna let him go."

She released him with a grunt. "Oh come on, Papyrus wasn't that wimpy when I first started training him! Guess I'll just have to toughen you up! Fuhuhuhu!"

Tenebris struggled to stand as Selendis and Frisk rushed to help him up. Papyrus joined them shortly after. "GIVE TENEBRIS A BREAK, UNDYNE. HE'S GREAT, BUT YOU CAN'T EXPECT HIM TO BE AS GREAT AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say. Now prepare yourself, punk! I take training seriously and I'll train you like I train Papyrus and other royal guard wannabes! YOU WANNA BE TOUGH? THEN PREPARE FOR A VERY HARSH TRAINING REGIMENT!"

Tenebris rubbed his throat before nodding at the sisters. "I'll be fine. Undyne made it clear she doesn't want to kill us, so don't be too worried. I do have food in case I need to heal if the case arises."

Selendis gave him a flat look. "If this is a similar situation like last-"

"I'm not telling you to go on without me again!"

"Certainly sounds like it!"

"Ex-CUSE me for trying to toughen myself up as best as I can!" Undyne and Sans were trying their best not to burst out laughing at the scene. Tenebris and Selendis started squabbling like lovers typically do, with Frisk and Papyrus trying to prevent it from escalating further.

Undyne leaned over to Sans and whispered, "Well, as Alphys would put it, I'd totally ship it." Sans let out a loud snort at that as she raised her voice. "Alright, you two! Nothings going to get done at this rate if you keep arguing like that!"

Tenebris sighed. "Selendis, just... trust me on this, okay?"

She frowned. "Fine... but if you come back in a similar condition to before, I'm going to kill you!"

He simply chuckles. "Yes m'lady." She huffs and wanders back to her original spot with Frisk and Papyrus, who are now trying to get her to calm down.

Undyne laughs. "You ready? Then prepare yourself!"

* * *

"Ow... my everything..." Tenebris muttered. Like she said beforehand, Undyne was crazy serious about her training. Even with monster food to keep him going, it was still a very rough road, especially since he couldn't absorb physical training like he could magic training. He was able to get down a basic fighting style with his scythe, but was unable to grasp more advanced techniques.

It lead to a very bad time for him, especially when he was handed off to Sans for intermediate magic training. Thanks to that, however, he was able to perfect some of the things he already knew as well as some new tricks. He can summon shadow spikes anywhere now and move them around at will, create shadowy clones, create shadow fire and ice, transform objects into more powerful shadow variants of themselves, and even gained the ability to heal damage to both physical bodies and souls. In addition, he streamlined his teleport and made a new aura that grants faster walking and running speed.

Tenebris commented that he didn't learn as much compared to the basic training. Sans merely responded, "because basic training is groundwork and you already learned both an intermediate and an advanced technique beforehand."

Because of how sore he was, the trio decided to stay in Snowdin for a little bit longer while he recovers. Undyne forbade him for cheaping out of the recovery by eating food for a little while, saying that it wouldn't help him develop if he did that.

Selendis gave him a flat look. "Looks like you barely fell short of being as banged up as before."

"Glad to know I'm not dying to you for now." That got a sputter out of her and a laugh out of everyone else. Tenebris remembered something and looked at Sans. "By the way, could you show me how to do that 'look' you gave me earlier?"

"you mean this one?" Sans' eyes disappeared again and Tenebris instantly broke out into a cold sweat again.

"Yeah, that one."

"welp... you may only be able to do it with your one eye, but i guess i'll try."


	17. Chapter 17 - Flirty Robots and Heat

"Are you sure you are well enough to travel, Tenebris?" Frisk asked with worry evident in her voice.

The shadow-eyed human chuckled. "Truth be told, I'm still feeling a bit sore from Undyne's training. I knew training for things like becoming royal guards is demanding, bit that's just ridiculous..."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we earned her begrudging respect." Selendis stated with a huff. Undyne made it clear that she wasn't friends with the humans, she merely respected them. She had the highest respect for Tenebris because of how long he lasted in their fight, but even with that she didn't want to be true friends.

Sans shrugged. "eh, i'm sure you'll be fine. not something that's flaunt-worthy, but it help to know that you've got the captain of the royal guard's respect. she had stated at one point in time that she would never trust or respect humans despite their... 'history', so you've got that going for you." Looking at Tenebris, he shook his head. "anyways, remember what i said about 'that' okay?"

Tenebris nodded. Sans had taught him how to do the disappearing eye trick, or in Tenebris' case the disappearing iris for one eye, and had pretty similar results; it even made Sans break out into a cold sweat, which made Tenebris question the logic considering he doesn't even have pores. Sans made him promise not to abuse it too much not just because scare tactics are a second-last resort, but also because using it too much diminishes it's effect on others.

Selendis sighed. "Guess we should head back to Hotland again. Not looking forward to such a hot place, I'm surprised we never burst into flames because of how much lava there was."

Tenebris shrugged. "Convection schmonvection? I wouldn't think too deeply about it, especially when you're talking to a human infused with shadow magic and a skeleton."

"touche..."

After bidding Sans and Papyrus farewell, The trio boarded the boat to Hotland. The river person, who was silent the first time they rode on his boat, was now singing. "Tra la la... The answer to everything is closer than you think." This confused the humans, but didn't spend too much time mulling over it.

When they reached close to where they saved Undyne, they learned from the new pair of royal guards stationed there that the elevators were malfunctioning. The reason why they were standing there? They were on the look out for any humans that may of gotten that far, which prompted the trio to head into the nearby labe nervously.

When they entered, the first thing that caught Selendis' attention was the only thing glowing in the dark room. "Is... that us?" Sure enough, all three humans were on the screen."

This unnerved Frisk a little. "Someone was spying on us this entire time... I don't like this one bit."

"We should dawdle here longer than we should, I'm already getting a bad feeling from this place... especially down below." Tenebris whispered. "Keep your eyes peeled, reflexes ready, and your buttocks covered, let's move."

Frisk gave him an amused look. "Buttocks?"

"You question my word choice now of all places?" Both girls giggled at how indignant he sounded.

When the lights suddenly came on, all three humans froze. Standing in front of them, not even aware the humans were there, was a yellow lizard-like monster with glasses and a lab coat. This implication came across their minds: they were technically trespassing even if it was the only way forward. What surprised them even more was when the monster noticed them and started freaking out in a way they didn't expect. "Oh, my god! I-I didn't expect you three to show up so suddenly like this! I haven't showered, I'm barely dressed, this place is a mess and..."

The humans gave her a confused look. She was, more than likely, the one spying on them, but was she actually expecting them to come by? Noticing their looks, the monster giggled nervously. "H-h-hiya! I'm Dr. Alphys, Asgore's royal scientist!" Noticing them tense up, she waved her hands frantically. "B-but I'm not one of the "bad guys"! Actually... ever since you three stepped out of the ruins, I've... um... been "observing" your journey through my console."

Tenebris shrugged. "At least we know who our stalker is now. Question is, why didn't you call the royal guards on us?"

She stuttered nervously. "I-it's just that... after watching everything you three went through during your journey, I'll... concede I was originally going to stop you, but watching things like that makes you want to root for them. So, now I, uh, want to help you instead!" Selendis gave her a discerning look while Frisk thought over it. Tenebris didn't know what to really think about her; for a royal scientist, which could be also classified as a head scientist, she seemed pretty ditsy and not at all like the last head scientist he had the displeasure of being experimented on by. He jumped a bit when Alphys suddenly said, "Especially you, Tenebris. Your magic hasn't reached it's full potential even with training from Sans of Snowdin! I could try and help you in that regard while helping all three of you through Hotland!"

Frisk nodded. "Okay, I trust you, Alphys. Tenebris could use every morsel of information he can get in terms of his magic and someone who's done research before will certainly help!"

Tenebris gave her yet another indignant look. "You're saying the like I have no chance of finding anything out on my own!"

Selendis shook her head. "You know full well that's not what she meant, Tenebris. Anyways, Alphys, we need all the help we can get, so I also accept your help."

Alphys let out a cry of joy. "Oh, thank you for letting me help you! Except... uh... just one problem."

"There's always a problem. What do you need us to do?" Tenebris sighed. Even if she was ditsy, he didn't really trust scientists after his own experience.

"Well... it's not so much something I need you to do as it is something I need you to be cautious of. Thing is, a long while back, I built a robot named Mettaton. Originally, I built him to be an entertainer, like a robotic TV star or the like. Thing is, I... in a brief moment of... weakness, decided to make him more useful. L-l-like... um... anti-human... functions." Tenebris rolled his eyes. There it is, the thing that's potentially going to screw them over. "I decided when I started rooting for you to remove those features, but sadly I may of made a... small mistake in doing so. Now... um... he's... now an unstoppable killing machine with a thirst for human blood?!"

Frisk let out a small squeak and Tenebris faceplamed hard. Selendis groaned, "Have you ever heard of the term "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? I'm pretty sure he would of been fine without any adjustments what-so-ever."

"S-s-sorry. Like I said; moment of weakness. H-hopefully we don't ever run into him."

Tenebris sighed. He waited for a bit before there was a loud clang. "Knew it, tempting fate is never a good thing..."

Frisk looked around after a few more clangs, worried. "Where is that coming from?"

Selendis slowly tensed up. "I'm afraid we're about to find out..."

Right on cue, the wall between Alphys and the humans exploded. Suddenly it grew dark and a robotic voice rang out. "OOOOOH YES! WELCOME, BEAUTIES..." Suddenly a spotlight shone one what looked like a rectangular box on wheels with a grid for a face. "... TO TODAY'S QUIZ SHOW!"

Confetti started falling a bit and multi-colored lights started shining as the rest of the room slowly brightened. Selendis had an unamused look on her face while Tenebris and Frisk looked at the wall opposite to the robot, where a camera suddenly appeared. "OH BOY! I CAN ALREADY TELL IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT SHOW! EVERYONE GIVE A BIG HAND FOR OUR LOVELY CONTESTANTS!"

More confetti rained onto the humans as now all three looked surprised. Frisk spoke up, "Wait, us? We just got here and... are we being broadcasted?!"

"THAT'S EXACTLY IT, DARLING! NEVER PLAYED BEFORE? NO PROBLEM FOR ANY OF YOU, FOR IT'S VERY SIMPLE! WE HAVE THREE CONTESTANTS: THE YOUNG KID, THE SHADOWY MALE, AND THE STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL BLOND IN THE MIDDLE!" Selendis squeaked and blushed while Tenebris stiffened with a less amused look. Mettaton was hitting on her. "ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS CORRECTLY..." His yellow 'face' suddenly started flashing red. "... OR YOU DIE!"

The area grew dark again and everyone's souls emerged. On the other end, Mettaton was now colored monotone with Alphys, who was not looking very pleased with the situation. The three humans found themselves in front of what looked like an answering... pedestal, with four buttons labeled from A to D with small screens beside them and a bigger screen in the upper middle. Frisk whimpered. "We never got a choice in the matter..."

Mettaton seemed to notice. "POP QUIZZES ARE LIKE THAT, DARLING. BUT SINCE YOU'LL BE THE FIRST ONE TO ANSWER, I'LL START YOU OFF WITH AN EASY ONE!" The question appeared in front of Frisk as the other two were forced to step back. Mettaton read it out loud as well, "WHAT'S THE PRIZE FOR ANSWERING CORRECTLY?"

Frisk nervously pushed the B button. "M-mercy?"

Mettaton zapped her soul directly with a laugh as Alphys cringed. "YOU WISH! WRONG! NOW WOULD THE SHADOWY MALE STEP FORWARD FOR HIS QUESTION."

Tenebris growled lowly as Frisk stumbled backwards from the zap. He managed to heal her before going forward towards the pedestal. Mettaton whistled. "AH HAH! SO THE MAGIC BEARING HUMAN CAN HEAL? OH WELL, WE SHALL CONTINUE ON REGARDLESS. WHAT'S THE KINGS FULL NAME?"

Tenebris looked at his options before noticing Alphys doing something with her hands. It looked like she was making a 'C' shape, so he pressed the C button, which got him a jingle. "CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER! THE MAGIC-BEARING HUMAN IS ALREADY FARING BETTER. NOW WOULD THE BLOND BEAUTY STEP FORWARD PLEASE; SHE IS A REAL HOTTIE!" Tenebris clenched his fist as he watched Selendis go up to plate, his eye's iris beginning to fade. "WELL, SINCE YOU ARE SUCH A LOVELY LADY, LET'S TALK ABOUT ME! WHAT ARE ROBOTS MADE OF?"

Selendis took the same cue from Alphys as Tenebris did, which made him tell Frisk about it in a low whisper. From then on, the humans didn't even pay attention to the quiz questions, they just subtly looked at what Alphys signaled to them, though the "ghost smooching" one was a bit out of left field for Selendis. However, every time she was called up to plate, Mettaton would flirt with her, getting Tenebris even madder each time. For the first time since coming down to the Underground, he started to _hate_ someone.

Frisk looked at Tenebris and noticed something that frightened her more than Mettaton's punishment: his eye had a bit of a red gleam to it. She frantically tapped his arm, making him look down at her close-to-crying worried face. When he realized what she was trying to tell him, he tried calming down; he was more than likely playing into Mettaton's hands. He pats her on the head. "Thanks, kid. Where would I be without you? Still... I, unfortunately, cannot hold any promises in regards to that rust-bucket."

"But..."

"Don't worry, I'm aware of what's at stake. He just... infuriates me so much... but I'll try to keep it on a leash." Hearing his name called out for the next question, he steps up to the plate with a subtle glare at Mettaton.

Mettaton chuckled a bit at feeling a lot of hostility from Tenebris, but didn't comment on it. "SEEMS THIS QUIZ IS PRETTY EASY FOR YOU HUMANS. I THINK IT'S TIME TO BREAK OUT THE BIG GUNS! IN THE DATING SIMULATION GAME "MEW MEW KISSY CUTIE" WHAT IS MEW MEW'S FAVORITE FO-" Alphys suddenly interrupted with a long-winded, yet passionate answer to the question, only to start slowing down when she realized she let slip that she was helping. Tenebris and Selendis cringed while Frisk sighed as Mettaton tutted. "ALPHYS, ALPHYS, ALPHYS... YOU AREN'T HELPING OUR CONTESTANTS, ARE YOU? OOOOOOH! YOU SHOULD OF TOLD ME. I'LL ASK A QUESTION YOU'LL BE SURE TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO! ALSO, ALL THREE CONTESTANTS CAN DEBATE ON THIS AND ANSWER IT. WHO DOES DR. ALPHYS HAVE A CRUSH ON?"

Selendis sighed as she stepped up with frisk and looked at the answers. "Well... guess we have no choice..?"

Frisk looked at the answers as well. "A is Undyne. That's... oddly specific."

Tenebris nodded. "B is Asgore, no surprise there. C is... are you for real?!" C was listed as 'the kid'. "That's a definite no-no!"

Selendis subtly glared at the last option. "'The magic male'? Definitely not that either; on both accounts we had just met!" Frisk detected a hint of jealousy in her sister's voice, which made her smile a bit. Despite Mettaton's constant flirting, she hasn't swayed.

Tenebris sighed. "Then that leaves just Asgore and Undyne..."

"Undyne. I'm still kinda sour over her chasing us for so long and putting you through that training, so I say put her on the spot as well." Selendis stated before hitting the button.

What shocked the humans was when Alphys started flushing furiously and Mettaton laughed. "SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS, TO THE POINT WHERE ALL THREE HUMANS FIGURED IT OUT! YES, HUMANS, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!" Somewhere else in the Underground, a certain captain was celebrating.

Crumpling up the paper he had the questions on, he let out a sigh. "WELL WELL WELL... WITH DR. ALPHYS HELPING YOU, THE SHOW NO LONGER HAS ANY SORT OF DRAMATIC TENSION, EVEN WITH THREE HUMANS! WE CAN'T GO ON LIKE THIS, BUT SINCE THIS IS JUST THE PILOT EPISODE, THERE WILL BE MORE DRAMA, MORE ROMANCE, AND MORE BLOODSHED! UNTIL NEXT TIME TO YOU, MY LOVELY VIEWERS!" He compacts himself and rockets out of the building.

Alphys was still blushing as she giggled nervously. "W-well that was something..."

Selendis approached her with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Alphys. I didn't realize it, I just chose Undyne because I was still bitter about her chasing us throughout Waterfall."

"I-it's fine. I know you guys aren't that malicious. Thing is, that last question? He wasn't supposed to ask that one; he uses that same quiz a fair amount of times." Tenebris noted a bit of an... off tone when she said the last part, but ignored it.

Frisk nodded. "Alright... do you know any other ways through Hotland? The elevators are down right now, so..."

Alphys perked up. "Ah, yes! Just go through those doors over there and it'll take you on the path to a different elevator that should be working."

"Thanks! We don't want to be hanging around when Mettaton comes back, so we should get a move on."

"Hold on, let me give you my ph-phone number. Then if you... n-need help I could... wait, where'd you get that phone? It's ANCIENT! No texting or anything..."

Selendis looked at the phone. "It... was given to us as a parting gift..."

"Oh, I-I see. Don't worry, I'll only upgrade it!" Alphys took the phone and dashed off with it. Suddenly, the humans heard some mechanical sounds, which baffled them. What baffled them even more was when she came back already. "And now it's upgraded. It can do texting, items, it's got a key-chain. For a little something extra, I even signed you up for the Underground's #1 social network! Now we're officially friends!"

Tenebris snorted. "Through Real I.D.?" Alphys pointed at him like she got the joke as Selendis facepalmed. After an awkward silence, she excused herself to the "bathroom" before running off. Shrugging, the humans continued through the door.

Not even a few steps out of the lab they got an update on their phone from Alphys: just realized i didn't watch undyne fight the humans v.v

Tenebris deadpanned. "Looks like that crush really is true."

"What, you needed more confirmation?" Frisk teased. He merely rolled his eyes.

They didn't get very far when Alphys updated again: well i know she's unbeatable i'll ask her about it later ^.^

Selendis sighed. "How much do you wanna bet that's going to get annoying?"

"Hence why I never use social media sites." Tenebris huffed.

Suddenly another update: wait i just found out that one of my cameras recorded her fight against tenebris. it looks epic gonna save it for later viewing

Selendis smirked as Tenebris blushed. "What was that before about your fight with her being meaningless?"

"S-shut up!"

She giggled before suddenly groaning. "Why is it so hot here?!"

She suddenly started taking off her shirt. Tenebris squeaked and looked away with an even bigger blush, not knowing that she had a tank-top underneath. "S-Selendis! Decency!"

She grinned as Frisk took off her sweater, revealing a light blue t-shirt underneath. "Aw, getting flustered over there, Tenebris? You do realize I have a tank-top on underneath this shirt, right?"

"H-h-h-how w-was I-I s-supposed to know?!"

"Magic." All that got out of the now flustered male was a groan and a stifled giggle from Frisk. The next post from Alphys didn't help his situation.

After walking on a conveyor belt for a bit to the next section, something Frisk enjoyed immensely, they got yet ANOTHER post from Alphys: gonna call them in a minute! =^.^=

"Sheesh, is she going to actually call us or not?" Tenebris burst out to try and get his mind out of the gutter.

"She doesn't seem like the most confident of social person I've ever met. I doubt she ever gets out much." Selendis stated in a matter-of-fact voice before smirking. "Kinda like a certain someone we know now, hm?"

"I've no idea what you're talking about." Frisk let out an extremely loud snort, grabbing his attention. "What was that?!"

"A very painful stifled laugh." Tenebris double-facepalmed which got a laugh out of Selendis.

After more conveyor belt rides, they got an expected update from Alphys yet again: I HATE USING THE PHONE I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS LMAO ^.^

"Why's that a LMAO?" Tenebris asked before shaking his head. "This girl is not making any sense at all. Then again, considering my history, I don't want to." That got a flinch out of the sisters; they forgot about his bad experience with scientists.

What directed their attention was a massive steam vent with an arrow painted on it. Selendis looked at it for a bit before blanching. "We have to ride the steam?! We'll get steam burns!"

Frisk looks at the gap between platforms. "The distance doesn't seem too massive... think you can jump us over without the steam vents, Tenebris?"

"Guess I'll give it a shot. Lifting and jump enhancement auras should help, but if I use them too much, I might... run out of 'steam'!"

Selendis sighed. "Ignoring the pun, I suppose that's the only way to do it. Can you carry both of us at once?"

"I think so, though it might be awkward. Actually, thinking more about it, I could just enhance the filter-barrier enchantment around us to prevent burns." Tenebris was trying his best not to re-ignite his blush at the thought of carrying Selendis around. "I'll... test it out first to ensure it actually works."

Sure enough, the enhancement to their barriers worked. Frisk was once again having the time of her life flying through the air, Selendis was secretly glad she didn't wear a skirt, and Tenebris was really nervous about hitting the vent wrong and getting sent into the lava-filled abyss below. Throughout their steam-hopping endeavors, they found a burnt pan which went to Selendis; she was the best cook out of the three.

One one of the platforms, they got another update: omg i've had my claw over the last digit for 5 minutes omg i'm just going to do it i'm just going to call!

"Grammer doesn't seem to be her strong suit either." Selendis snarked before noticing something. "If she's updating using her phone, how is she updating and about to call at the same time?"

"Never underestimate what phones can do." Tenebris stated flatly. He didn't really care about upgrading phones unless his old one died, but he knows enough about the more modern ones.

After hopping onto the next platform, the phone rang. When Selendis answered it, they realized that whoever called hung up already. Shrugging, they continued until they got another call when they were right in front of an orange laser. "Uhh, h-hi, so, the blue lasers..." She stopped herself short before stuttering a few times. "Uh, I mean, Alphys here!. S-so, the blue lasers won't hurt you if you don't move. Orange ones y-you have to... um, be moving... I mean you have to, um... th-they won't harm you as long as you're moving! uhh... bye!"

The trio stared at the phone for a second. Tenebris inhaled. "Oooooookay... well we already knew about the blue ones from Snowdin, but now we got orange lasers, and by extension attacks, to deal with now and they're the opposite. Just wonderfu-" He got interrupted by a status from Alphys: OMG I DID IT! claws haven't shook like that ever since undyne called to ask about the weather... v.v

Selendis frowned. "It still bothers me that there are attacks and hazards that don't harm you if you do specific actions. It feels like everything down here should, but I guess not..? Still, even if we mess up, we still have protection... also, since when was there weather down here?"

Tenebris shrugged. "Magic?"

"That'd better not become a thing."

Frisk nodded before suddenly running through one of the lasers. Both of the older humans gasped before seeing she was alright. "Alphys is right, the orange ones don't harm you if you keep moving!"

After finding his breath again, Tenebris sighed. "Perhaps we should go one at a time, just to prevent any mess-ups from collision." Frisk nodded before continuing on. She waved to her companions after she got through all of the lasers.

Selendis went next, but she stopped after the first two orange lasers to check an update from Alphys that made her burst into laughter: WAIT THERE'S NO WEATHER DOWN HERE WHY DID SHE CALL ME

"What are you laughing about?" Tenebris asked with confusion. When Selendis read the update, the other two burst into laughter as well. "That's classic!"

Frisk waited for a bit before noticing a red switch. Selendis shrieked when she misstepped and was about to get hit by a blue laser when it suddenly shut off. "W-what just happened?"

"Oops... didn't realize the off switch for those was right beside me..." Tenebris busted a gut laughing at both Frisk's awkward voice and Selendis' outraged look. It was made even funnier when The older sister tackled her younger sister and started to noogie her as punishment before joining them beside the switch.

Continuing on, the interrupting updates continued: Oh My God i Forgot to Tell THem Where To Go

"Do you realize how hard it is not to go grammer nazi on her right now?" Tenebris stated with an indignant huff. Selendis giggled while Frisk continued nursing the top of her head. What stopped them dead in their tracks was another post, this time of a picture: CUte PIC OF ME RIGHT NOW ^.^

The picture was a garbage can with pink, glittery filters over it. This got a flat "what" from all three humans, who were confused before Selendis shook her head. "I knew she had social anxiety, but calling herself trash?"

"Gimmi that!" Tenebris swiped the phone from Selendis and started imputing a response to the picture. The account they were using was called TheHumanTrio: T: Alphys, why are you calling yourself trash? Look at me; I'm 16 years old and I already have no future.

That last sentence got him a smack in the head from Selendis. "How many times do I have to tell you not to be so harsh on yourself?"

"It's technically true. The humans on the surface will never accept my magic because of how ingrained in everyone's mind how darkness is always evil. Plus, they will fear my magic talent regardless of my intentions." Tenebris trailed off a bit. "Besides... I'd probably get handed over to some laboratory to be experimented on... again..."

Frisk piped up, "But we aren't staying with them! We're going back to Toriel, remember?"

Tenebris sighed. "R-right, sorry. I forgot we technically do have a home down here; it just sucks that my inner demons couldn't leave me well enough alone on that prospect..."

Selendis shook her head. "That's why we came with you, Tenebris. There's no reason to go through everything down here by yourself." Frisk nodded, hope in her eyes.

"Thanks you two... to be honest, I probably wouldn't of gotten this far without you two. Let's get everything over with so that we can return to Toriel and our new home." Selendis nodded, but had a dreadful feeling in her gut, like something was going to go horribly wrong or that they are missing key information that could screw them over permanently.


	18. Chapter 18 : Cooking and Fear

The trio of humans continued through Hotland in the hopes of getting through it without being blindsided by Mettaton again. Selendis continued to hold a bad feeling in her gut over something potentially making their entire journey pointless or with severe consequences but refrained from telling her companions about it; Tenebris didn't need anything fueling his depression.

He was still holding the phone when Alphys called them when they stopped in front of some steam vents and a closed door. "Alphys here. Um... Tenebris, were you the one who posted that?"

He jumped a bit before nervously responding, "Y-yes I did."

"Did... did you actually mean that? I-I mean... to lose sight of your future at such a young age..."

Tenebris gulped as he felt the sisters stare very intently at him, clearly not wanting him to continue admitting his still prevalent depression. "W-well... certain 'tragedies' tend to do that to people. I'll admit that I don't think like that as often anymore, but it still occasionally invades my mind."

"Tragedies, huh..? A-anyways, the door in front of you won't open until you solve the puzzles nearby. I-if you want me personal opinion, t-the right one is safer than the left one." She stuttered at the end there, which told Tenebris that something was up. Even though she had opened up a bit more, a part of him refused to trust her.

Selendis sighed and shook her head. "Right first it is, then. I just want to go somewhere cool again..."

Frisk looked at the phone funny. "What makes the left path more dangerous? Is Mettaton in that general area?"

Alphys stammered a bit more. "U-um, not e-exactly. There are some t-traps I've yet to d-deactivate for y-you guys. I'm working on it n-now, but I still need a little m-more time."

Tenebris groaned. "If said trap is a laser, couldn't I just vault over it? I do have stupid-high jumping capability."

Alphys paused for a bit. "I-I suppose that could work. Outside of those lasers, i-it's just as safe as the right path."

"Then that's what we're doing. Selendis and Frisk, you guys go right. I'll go left and solve the puzzle there to save on time."

Selendis hesitated. The last few times Tenebris deviated from the group, he first almost died then got drunk the second time. Making up her mind, she shook her head. "We'll ALL go right and wait for Alphys to finish deactivating the traps on the left."

Tenebris was appalled. "Wait, what? Alphys literally said there's-"

"Tenebris, remember the last two times you split off from us?" Selendis gave him a stern glare. When he gave her a confused look, she groaned. "First time, you almost get killed! Second time, you get drunk when you're underage and... said some things that broke my heart, and I don't mean you being mean to me. So no, I refuse to let you go off on your own, not on this journey anyways."

"I... uh..." Tenebris tried to think of a retort before sighing in defeat. "Guess I lost my privileges on that front..."

"Exactly. You become a danger to yourself if nobody is around to look after you!" He pouted at her and she shook her head. "It's true and you know it." Frisk was trying her hardest not to start giggling madly, even though it was a serious situation. She could tell Selendis was now constantly worried over Tenebris like she was afraid of losing him and, to her, was fussing over him like a girlfriend might over an overly reckless boyfriend.

Alphys let out a nervous cough. "R-right, I should p-probably go. OH! Tenebris, I should... give you some bad news. Try as I might, I couldn't find any sort of scientific research data on my mainframe. The only thing existing in the underground that contains information on dark magic is a specific book and there's only about three copies left." She lets out a depressed sigh. "I-I know I said I would help you on that front as well... but I just can't."

Tenebris panicked a little. "I-it's fine, Alphys! We found a copy in Snowdin and gleaned a lot of useful information from it. Besides, from what I heard from an old monster named Gerson, the last sighting of my dark magic by monster kind was before your ancestors got sealed down here. Because of that, I doubt there would be any sort of computer data on my magic, so don't feel too bad!"

That seemed to cheer the scientist up. "Thanks, Tenebris. I'll let you know when I've deactivated those traps on the left side." With that, she hung up.

Going to the right, the humans found a bunch of monsters slacking off with the excuse that defense systems had activated, trapping them there. Ignoring them, they went into the tiny building and gain some respite from the heat and tried out the puzzle, which was a pesudo space-shooter game. It was very easy to get on the first try. When they went to the other side, the laser blocking their way suddenly shut off, followed by a phone call from Alphys saying so, only to be embarrassed by the fact that the humans saw it turn off.

After solving that puzzle and going through the door, they were met with a series of steam vents. Frisk looked at them curiously. "Looks like these vents has us land on subsequent ones in rapid succession. Looks like fun!" Before Selendis could say anything, she jumped onto a vent want was continuously rocketed off to the other side safely.

Tenebris gave Selendis an impish grin. "Guess you could say it's... full steam ahead!"

"I'VE CHANGED MY MIND, TENEBRIS! YOU CAN GO OFF ON YOUR OWN FOR ALL I CARE!" Tenebris busted a gut laughing at her reaction and, judging by the laughing from afar, so did Frisk. When the older humans got across, Selendis' mood didn't get any better when Tenebris mentioned "blowing off steam".

When they entered the room, it was pitch black. Tenebris, even with his enhanced night vision, could barely make out shapes in the room. When Alphys turned the lights on for them, all of them were shocked and horrified at the fact that they were situated in a kitchen. "OHHH YES! WELCOME, BEAUTIES, TO THE UNDERGROUND'S PREMIERE COOKING SHOW!"

As the words "Cooking with a Killer Robot" appeared, the humans gave Mettaton a mixture of faces, with Tenebris giving him reawakened ire. "PRE-HEAT YOUR OVENS BECAUSE WE'VE GOT A VERY SPECIAL RECIPE TODAY! TODAY WE'RE MAKING A VERY SPECIAL CAKE! WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT IT, YOU MAY ASK? YOU'LL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH!"

"Three guesses as to how it's special..." Tenebris whispered into the sister's ears. They simply nodded.

"I HOPE OUR GORGEOUS BLOND HERE DOESN'T HAVE TO WEAR A HAIR-NET! IT WOULD BE A TRAGEDY IF THOSE BEAUTIFUL STRANDS HAD TO BE FORCEFULLY TIED UP AND NOT SHOWING OFF THEIR BRILLIANT LIGHT!" Tenebris let out a low growl and Frisk gave him a worried look. Mettaton must of known his actions are pushing Tenebris' buttons, otherwise he wouldn't antagonize him like this. "ANYWAYS, WOULD THE KID KINDLY GATHER UP THE INGREDIENTS FOR ME? I'M PRETTY SURE YOU KNOW WHAT GOES INTO MOST CAKES, SO I'LL SPARE YOU THE DETAILS! EVERYONE GIVE THEM A BIG HAND!"

Confetti rained down on Frisk as Mettaton clapped. She looks behind her and sees the three ingredients just sitting there, so she quickly gathered them up. "I... think that's everything..."

"WELL LET'S SEE HERE! HMM... MILK, EGGS, AND SUGAR. THAT IS PERFECT, THANK YOU MY LITTLE BEAUTY! NOW WE HAVE ALL THE INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THE CAKE!" Mettaton paused for a bit, making Frisk give him a confused moment. "HOLD UP A MAGNIFICENT MOMENT! I SAID WE WERE GOING TO MAKE A 'SPECIAL' CAKE, DIDN'T I? I ALMOST FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT FOR IT!" He suddenly brought a chainsaw out from under the counter, making Frisk squeak in fright and run back to the older humans. "A HUMAN SOUL. AND LUCKILY FOR US THERE'S THREE, SO WE'RE MAKING A TRIPLE BATCH!"

He revved up the chainsaw and slowly approached the trio. Tenebris grumbled before throwing solid, gunky shadows at the chainsaw, causing it to suddenly sputter out and smoke. He smiled after seeing Mettaton's apparent look of surprise. "Aw, did I break an important kitchen appliance? Don't worry I'm sure you can ALWAYS get another one in the near future. Why not keep that one, though? It's 'smoking' hot!"

"Was that pun really necessary now of all places, Tenebris?" Selendis rolled her eyes, trying not to groan out loud.

The phone suddenly rang and Tenebris hit the answer button. "Y-yeah, Mettaton. B-besides, what if... what if someone watching is... vegan? C-couldn't you... make a substitution?" Tenebris gave the phone ringing Alphys voice out an odd look but shook his head.

Mettaton gave the phone an odd look. "... VEGAN?"

"W-well I mean-"

"THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA ALPHYS! I ACTUALLY HAPPEN TO HAVE AN OPTION ON HAND: MTT-BRAND ALWAYS-CONVENIENT HUMAN-SOUL-FLAVOR-SUBSTITUTE! A CAN OF IT HAPPENS TO BE ON THAT COUNTER OVER THERE!" He points to a counter that was very detached from the kitchen. "SINCE THE SHADOW-WIELDING HUMAN BROKE MY 'APPLIANCE', WHY SHOULDN'T HE GO GRAB IT FOR US?"

Tenebris rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Yeah, because it being that far away is totally not going to be a trap." Shaking his head at the sisters, Selendis giving him a confused look and Frisk continuing to give him a worried look, he gave them the phone and headed towards the can, though not before shooting a death glare at the robot as he passed.

Mettaton chuckled to himself as the human approached the can. _This human, Tenebris I believe, is going to make this little charade very interesting indeed. Besides, all of my lovely viewers no doubt saw the glare he just gave me._

When Tenebris reached the can, the counter 'sank' then suddenly shot up. He groaned in irritation. "Can I call them or what?"

Mettaton chuckled as he approached. "MY MY, GENRE SAVVY, ARE WE? WELL LET ME ADD ON THE FACT THAT OUR SHOW RUNS ON A STRICT TIME LIMIT. IF YOU CAN'T OBTAIN THE CAN IN ONE MINUTE, WE'LL HAVE TO GO BACK TO OUR ORIGINAL PLAN. MIGHT I ADD EVEN FURTHER, IT COULD BE ONE OF _THEIR_ SOULS?"

Tenebris sharply turned to the robot and hissed, " _You wouldn't dare!_ "

"I'M AFRAID SO. BESIDES, YOU WOULD HAVE NO ONE ELSE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF IF YOU'RE TOO SLOW. I'D START CLIMBING IF I WERE-"

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to stop you right there. Climbing? That's cute." Tenebris scoffed before throwing up his jumping aura and started vaulting up the column with a myriad of jumps.

Mettaton let out a whistle as the sisters rushed up to the column. "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES. I NEVER ANTICIPATED SUCH WONDROUS JUMPING CAPABILITY! PERHAPS I SHOULD GO UP AND MEET HIM AT THE TOP!" With that, he activated his boosters and rocketed up after Tenebris.

Selendis let out a dismayed sigh. "And after I just got done telling him he shouldn't go off on his own..."

"I think it has to do with the fact that Mettaton was tormenting him before and during this." Frisk stated with worry; she didn't want Tenebris to start falling to magic corruption now of all places, not when they're so close to the core and the end of their journey.

"How was Mettaton tormenting him? If anything, he's tormenting ME!" This caused Frisk to facepalm. Selendis tended to miss things like that unless it explicitly slaps her in the face, hence why she was still pretty ignorant of Tenebris' feelings toward her.

Up top, Tenebris had reached the can at the same time Mettaton did. Tenebris pointed at the robot with a snarky grin. "Where's your god now, Mettaton?"

"MY MY, IT SEEMS YOU ACTUALLY BESTED ME. WHO KNEW YOU COULD CLIMB SO FAST VERTICALLY. LOOKS LIKE YOU WIN THIS ROUND AS WELL, HUMAN! WELL TOODLES!" Mettaton started flying off before suddenly coming back. "OH YES, ABOUT THE SUBSTITUTION... HAVEN'T YOU EVER SEEN A COOKING SHOW BEFORE?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I ALREADY BAKED THE CAKE AHEAD OF TIME! AS SUCH, I WISH YOU LUCK IN GETTING BACK DOWN!"

Mettaton started laughing, but was cut off by Tenebris prying the can off the surface of the 'counter' and chucking it hard at him, resulting in a loud clang and an indignant "OW". " _You son of a-_ "

"AH AH AH, NO SWEARING IN A FAMILY FRIENDLY TV SHOW!" The robot scolded before flying off again.

Tenebris growled venomously at the retreating robot until he was out of sight. When he turned his attention back to the current situation, he was suddenly aware of how high up he was. Fear started to overcome him as he started shivering violently. "I-I c-completely f-forgot... I HATE HEIGHTS!"

Selendis heard him shout and facepalmed hard. "You think he would of thought of that _before_ trying to show up Mettaton?" Hearing the phone ring, she answers it. "What is it, Alphys?"

""T-Tenebris doesn't seem all that inclined to, um, c-climb down. H-he's shaking violently and looks like he's about to cry."

Selendis sighed. "Tenebris is just like a cat in that regard. He can climb _up_ very easily, but climbing down seems to be an Achilles Heel for him. What doesn't help his case is that he's scared stiff of heights."

"Oh, I didn't know he was so scared of heights. W-well I can lower the counter back to it's original position! Just give me a moment." Alphys hung up and not long after, the column started lowering.

When Tenebris felt the column start moving under him, he gripped the sides of the counter and closed his eyes tightly. When it stopped moving, he cracked his eyes open to see an amused look on Selendis' face. "And what have we learned here?"

"T-to not climb really tall objects?" That made the sisters burst out into laughter at how unsure Tenebris sounded, especially when he was very careful about getting off the counter. After he had calmed down, they moved on.

Little did the humans know, Flowey was still stalking them. He gave the group his own amused look. "To think the one who can control fear is actually afraid of something. Interesting, veeeery interesting." He thought back again to when Selendis was the only anomaly. Mettaton was hitting on her then as well, though she seemed more aware of it then, almost as if she became a bit more blissfully ignorant about things like that ever since Tenebris showed up.

He suddenly remembered one detail from then and grinned maliciously. "I wonder how well they can managed with _her_ fears this time." He burrowed back underground, intent on stalking them all the way to Asgore's castle. They weren't going for the ending he was hoping for, but he'll settle for this.

As the trio of humans continued, they suddenly saw an ominous building in the distance. As if on cue, Alphys phoned again. "S-see that building in the distance? That's the Core, the source of all power for the underground."

Selendis looked at the Core curiously. "How does it generate power? I've never seen anything like this."

"It converts geothermal energy into magical electricity!"

Tenebris frowned. "What the difference between magical electricity and normal electricity?"

That question clearly caught Alphys off guard. "Um... I don't actually know... I think they're largely... the same? A-anyways, inside the Core is an elevator leading directly to Asgore's castle. From there, you can go home!"

Frisk let out a sigh. "Home... huh..."

Alphys had heard Frisk's sigh. "W-what's wrong? You 'did' come this far to go home, right?"

"Y-yeah. Don't mind me, just thinking about something." Alphys must of bought it because she hung up shortly after.

Tenebris sighed. "I feel the same way, Frisk. We are doing all of this, only to return to the Ruins after my business on the surface is done... in a way, I feel like we're taking advantage of all of our friends down here..."

"That's just how it is, unfortunately..." Selendis shook her head. "Perhaps they will understand when Toriel decides to come out of the ruins and re-intergrate with the society down here. For now, all we can do is pray we don't leave too bad of a mark."

"Agreed."

Reaching the elevator that Alphys mentioned when they first met, they go up to floor R2. They meet a fire monster named Flames Heatsman, who seemed somewhat condescending so they moved on shortly. There, they saw Sans. "hey, guys. how are you finding hotland so far?"

"Hot." Was all Selendis said.

"Tenebris nodded. "I agree. Anyways, what are you doing here, Sans?"

"nothing much. just figured that i would set up a hot dog stand here. wanna buy one? only 30G."

Selendis was about to open her mouth when Frisk cut her off. "Sure I'll take one! I feel like I need the energy." She hands over the money and Sans gives her a hot dog... which she scrutinized. "Sans, did you just give me a water sausage in a bun? I know practical jokes are your kind of thing, but that's just rude..."

Tenebris and Selendis gave each other a confused look. "Water sausage?"

"It's similar to cattails on the surface."

Sans snorted when the Selendis glared at him and Tenebris facepalmed with a smirk. "if it makes you feel any better, they are still edible. Plus, that's the only water sausage 'dog i've got anyways."

"Alrighty then, Sans. Where did you even find water sausages anyways? I never seen any growing in the underground." Tenebris asked, his left eye flaring thoughtfully.

"they're found in waterfall, you might of just missed the paths that have them growing. anyways, here's the hot dogs for you guys." He hands The three humans more hot dogs. They found out that they were technically hot cats, but they were meat so Selendis let it slide.

As they continued, they got the first update from Alphys in a while with a picture of a cat girl figurine: dinner with the girlfriend ;)

Frisk snorted as she ate her hot cat. "Almost looks like she's instagraming her food."

Selendis shook her head. "Maybe monster society down here isn't so different from human society, despite the isolation." Tenebris hummed a bit, but didn't comment.

They suddenly got a picture update from someone named CookSkeleton95: ARE WE POSTING HOT "PICS?" HERE IS ME AND MY COOL FRIEND

Tenebris laughed when he saw the picture. "Oh Papyrus, never change."

Alphys responded quickly: LOL CoolSkeleton95... that's a joke, right? Papyrus responded with: THE ONLY JOKE HERE, IS HOW STRONG MY MUSCLES ARE.

Selendis snorted as she typed on the phone: S: Hate to be a killjoy here, CoolSkeleton95, but if you're a skeleton, doesn't that mean you have no muscles?

Frisk looked at her with a baffled expression. "Oh come on, Selly. Let him have his-" She was cut off when Papyrus responded with: OH NOO! IT REALLY IS A JOKE!

"I... didn't mean to make him sad over it. I was just... stating fact."

Frisk rolled her eyes as she swiped the phone from Selendis and typed: F: Hey, that doesn't mean you aren't strong, though! She got a happy response.

At one point, they got a friend request from NAPSTABLOOK22. Frisk tried to accept it, but it rejected itself, making the humans feel bad for the ghost. They found an apron and Selendis was voted to wear it. She groaned in irritation. "You guys like making me wear everything. Fine, but I'm giving the glasses to someone else."

"Frisk. Unlike me, she can't throw up defensive barriers or teleport out of harms way."

Frisk gave Tenebris a look before shaking her head. "If you say so. However, next time we find something, you're the one getting it."

"Heh... yes m'lady."

When they reached what looked like a conveyor-belt puzzle, Alphys tried to help them with it. However, she made them miss the last switch, though it deactivated the force-field blocking the way anyways. She then updated that it's the last time she tries to help with a puzzle. It was the worst timing too, as the humans got stuck on a steam-vent puzzle for quite a while before finally solving it.

When they got near what looked like a safe, they kept getting updates from Alphys about how bad a sequel to Mew Mew Kissy Cutie was the worst thing ever. This baffled Tenebris. "It happens a lot on the surface too. People bash sequels for "not living up to the first one's expectations". Am I the only one who likes them, games or animes?"

Frisk frowned. "For me, it depends. I have played and watched some pretty good sequels, especially if it properly builds upon what the first one laid out, but there are some that fall flat on their faces."

"Uh... I honestly just treat everything as it's own individual story, not as continuations or whatever." Selendis stated awkwardly.

Tenebris hummed thoughtfully. "If that's how you do thing's I won't judge. Sometimes it's better that way anyways."

"Hey! You three! Stop!" The humans turned sharply to see the two royal guards from before approaching them. "We've, like, received an anonymous tip about a trio of humans wandering around in Hotland right now." All three humans froze on the spot, not knowing what to say or do. "It's not safe, especially since we've been told that one had dark powers capable of utterly destroying anyone it comes across." Tenebris felt his heart drop into his heart. Hearing them say that suddenly brought up very painful memories and he grew deathly pale.

The guard continued on, "I know, sounds scary, huh? Well, just stay chill. We'll bring you three someplace safe, okay?" He beckoned them and, not knowing what else to do, the trio followed him and his partner. When the second guard suddenly stopped, the first one looked confused. "Huh? what is it, bro?" The second one mumbled something. "There's three of them? And the male has a shadowy eye?" The humans started backing off a bit as the guards faced them. "Bro... are you thinkin'... what I'm thinkin?" The first guard rubbed the back of his head. "Bummer, this is, like, mega embarrassing. We totally have to kill you and stuff, even though you seemed so nice earlier. Sorry."

Their souls appeared as the guards drew their weapons. Tenebris backed away a few more steps and very reluctantly summoned a scythe. _No... not now... not when... I can hear the screams..._

He snapped back to attention when one of the guards started to dash at Selendis. He managed to block it and swung the scythe to drive him back, the screaming still in the back of his head. The other one tried to strike him, but couldn't get past the scythe because of how long it was and how large the head was. They resorted to a double magic attack that forced all three humans to dodge.

Tenebris' inexplicable and rapidly growing irritation managed to silence the screaming as he went on the offence a bit, trying to get the guards to relent. They were nowhere near as strong as Undyne was, but the way they often kept alternating between attacking Frisk and Selendis started pissing him off. When they suddenly got a good strike off on Frisk while he was distracted with Selendis, that pushed him over the line and he growled, "Okay, you two... I've been TRYING to play nice, but you refuse to give up your attack. I'll only say this one more time: leave us alone!"

The guards shook their heads. "Sorry, we have orders to take one of your souls to King Asgore."

"So that's how it is, huh? You're willing to commit cold-blooded murder just because your "king" told you to. Pitiful..." His left iris disappeared as he glared at them. "Now... **_allow me to teach you the true meaning of the word fear_**."

His entire body was enveloped in a dark aura as he approached the duo menacingly, despite desperate pleas from the sisters. They both started trembling violently in fear as one of them suddenly cried out, "I-it can't be... the Grim Reaper... has come for us!"

 _I-it can't be... is this what we've created? Now... the Grim Reaper... comes for us..._

Tenebris stopped dead in his tracks, aura dissipating and iris returned with a horrified look. "My god... what am I doing? W-what... _what am I!_ "

The guards stopped trembling as he collapsed onto one knee, confused. One moment, they felt like they were staring right at death itself and the next they see a human on one knee, seemingly trembling from self-inflicted fear and being comforted by his companions. They didn't know what to think.

* * *

Sans had went back to his house in Snowdin to read the book about the magic of darkness again, purely out of curiosity. He deadpanned when he saw something he didn't see before: "Human users of the magic of darkness tend to suffer from emotional instability as they learn to control their magic. By no means does it ever degrade to violent mood swings, but increases in irritability and other negative emotions have been recorded. By extension, regardless if the user is human or monster, if they have committed a grave sin in the past, advanced users have the small chance of self-inflicting themselves with fear; fear of what they have done."

Papyrus saw the section when he passed by and was suddenly worried. "DOES THAT MEAN TENEBRIS COULD BE MORE IRRITABLE?"

"he didn't seem like it when he first left snowdin, but he certainly looked irritated during his appearances on tv. the sisters are with him, so i doubt we have to worry much about him, nor do we have to worry about him hitting himself with fear; i doubt he's committed any 'grave sins' before coming down here..." Sans trailed off at the end, wondering if it truly was a good idea to teach Tenebris the vanishing eye trick. Papyrus mentioned that He looks scary serious whenever he does it, which he expected, but when Tenebris did it to him, even just in good-natured practice, he felt like he was looking death straight in the eye.

Sans sighed. He still couldn't believe he was tempted to call the mostly good-natured human the Grim Reaper. _maybe i should refrain from giving him his advanced lessons should he come back for them..._


	19. Chapter 19 - News Webbing

Tenebris breathed as he tried to calm himself from his sudden panic attack. It was the first one he's had in a long time; he hasn't had one since becoming friends with Frisk and Selendis. However, what the one guard called him brought back... painful memories.

Selendis had stayed by Tenebris' side ever since he had his panic attack and Frisk managed to get the royal guards to call off their attack in the most absurd way: cleaning one of the guard's armor of its cooling dirt and telling the other one, who had the hots for his partner, to be honest with himself. They decided to relent after, but they stayed behind to watch over the trio of humans until Tenebris recovered.

When the shadow-eyed human finally re-regulated his breathing, one shook his head. "I'm, like, totally sorry about causing you a panic attack there, dude. It's just... the way to looked and the way you approached us reminded me of the Grim Reaper and... well, I'm willing to bet I caused some painful memories to resurface."

Tenebris shook his head, still shaken up. "More th-than you know, but it's fine. It's... probably for the best anyways..."

Selendis supported him as he stood back up, worried. "Tenebris, are you positively sure you're fit to continue like this? I mean... ever since we left Snowdin again, you've become a lot more irritable than before. I mean... at the beginning if this happened, you would have tried to find a way to get them to relent peacefully... but now you're acting a lot more aggressive..."

"I... honestly don't know. Things that normally don't bother me started irritating me as well. Is... my patience running thin or something?"

Frisk shook her head. "You're normally a very patient person, Tenny. Maybe the lack of sunlight is starting to get to you? I know some people react more adversely to that than others."

RG1 waved and got the trio's attention. "Well if it's, like, a problem with irritability, I think we can help. The king actually teaches us ways of calming ourselves should we become irritated or stressed, especially in situations like the one you three were just in. Besides, we're going to... take a rain check on, um, killing you guys, so don't tell Undyne okay?"

Tenebris let out a tired laugh. "Undyne isn't after us anymore either. In fact, she trained me a bit to help me become more proficient in combat."

"Wait... really? Actually... that explains why the way you held your scythe reminded me of the way Undyne holds her spears. Your irritability makes even more sense now; Undyne's training does tend to make people more irritable than usual, so we can help you with that."

"Anything that helps will work. I just don't want to blow my top over the stupidest of things down the road." Tenebris shivered violently, which caught Selendis and Frisk off guard. It was hot, yet it was almost like he was freezing.

RG1 shook his head. "Then let's fall back a bit to near that safe. It has the feeling of a resting area, so it's the best place to teach such lessons."

It didn't take long for the humans to learn the lessons the royal guard had to offer and it was effective for Tenebris, Frisk, and surprisingly Selendis. The exercises mostly consisted of breathing exercises, but there were some psychological lessons thrown in as well. What baffled the trio after the guards left was their insistence that it was Asgore who taught them those exercises. As Selendis blatantly put it, "We are getting mixed messages about that guy."

Continuing on, they got another post from Alphys, who seemingly forgot to check up on the humans. The next post she sent almost made Tenebris double over in laughter: Top 10 Shows That Make You Forget To Do Your Fricken Job

The jolly atmosphere soon vanished when they entered another dark room. Frisk let out a sigh. "Mettaton Really should find a new way to try and get the drop on us..."

The phone rang and, as per usual, Alphys was on the other end. "Okay, I'm back! A-another dark room, huh? No worries, m-my hacking skills have got things covered!" Not even a second after she said that, the lights turned on, revealing Mettaton in what looks like a... news cast set-up. Alphys' reaction mirrored the human's. "Are you serious?"

"OHHHHHH YESSS! GOOD EVENING, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES! THIS IS METTATON, REPORTING LIVE FROM MTT NEWS! AN INTERESTING SITUATION HAS ARISEN IN EASTERN HOTLAND! FORTUNATELY, OUR CORRESPONDENTS ARE OUT THERE REPORTING LIVE!" The humans sighed. This was the third time Mettaton did something like this and it was starting to wear thin. "BRAVE CORRESPONDENTS, PLEASE FIND SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY TO REPORT!"

"We're never going to have a say in this." Tenebris groaned. Frisk noticed that he was nowhere near the level of irritation he was before, which made her happy deep down.

"I HOPE OUR LOVELY BLOND CAN FIND SOMETHING SHE IS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT! I BET SHE SOUNDS AS BEAUTIFUL AS SHE LOOKS." Selendis scoffed, getting tired of Mettaton's blatant flirting, and Tenebris was silently breathing deep, trying not to become more irritated than he already was; he really didn't like anyone hitting on his crush. "I'M SURE OUR TEN WONDERFUL VIEWERS WOULD LOVE THAT!" Tenebris was tempted to make fun of the viewer count, but refrained until it was the right time.

Frisk looked around and observed various objects scattered around the room, including a basketball, a dog, a present, a script, a video game, and… a glass of water. She pointed it out and Selendis snorted. "You know what? Let's report that, just to spite him."

Tenebris chuckled. "Yeah. Let's see what he says with this." The trio walk over to the glass.

Mettaton let out an obviously fake gasp. "OH MY! IT'S… A COMPLETELY NONDESCRIPT GLASS OF WATER. BUT ANYTHING CAN MAKE A GREAT STORY WITH ENOUGH SPIN!" Selendis motioned towards it impatiently, signaling she wanted to report on it. Tenebris noted Mettaton's slightly unimpressed tone as he said, "ATTENTION VIEWERS! OUR CORRESPONDENTS HAVE FOUND… A GLASS OF WATER! BUT WHAT'S ASTONISHING ABOUT THIS GLASS OF WATER… IS HOW UNINTERESTING IT IS! LIKE ALL GLASSES OF WATER, IT IS COMPOSED OF DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE, GLASS, NYTROGLICERINE…"

Frisk caught on a few seconds later. "Nitroglycerine? Isn't that…" The older humans adopted horrified looks when they caught on.

"WAIT A SECOND… THAT'S NOT A GLASS OF WATER! THAT'S… A BOMB!" As if on cue, the liquid started flashing and the humans jumped away from it. "OH NO! THIS NEWS REPORT… IS TURNING INTO A DISASTER REPORT! BUT DON'T PANIC! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN THE REST OF THE ROOM YET!"

The stage Mettaton was apparently sitting on suddenly fell away. The humans looked around and saw that everything, save for the dog and the basketball, had some form of explosive in them. None of them were amused in the slightest, with Selendis whispering, "At this point, anything he does will subliminally try and kill us. It's just a matter of finding out what and when."

"OH MY! IT SEEMS EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM IS ACTUALLY A BOMB! AS YOU HUMANS CAN PROBABLY ASTERTAIN AT THIS VERY MOMENT, THAT DOG IS A BOMB AND THAT BEASKETBALL IS A BOMB! EVEN MY WORDS ARE…" Some words spelling out exactly what mettaton just said suddenly fell onto the ground and exploded. Tenebris raised an eyebrow; as much as Mettaton annoys him, he had to admit the robot was classy for doing something like that. "BRAVE CORRESPONDENTS… IF YOU DON'T DEFUSE ALL OF THE BOMBS, THIS BIG BOMB WIL BLOW YOU TO SMITHERINEENS IN TWO MINUTES! THEN NONE OF YOU WILL BE REPORTING "LIVE" ANY LONGER!"

"Did you really have to turn that into a pun?!" Selendis outburst with annoyance, which made Tenebris snicker a bit.

"IT'S THE SHOWBLITZ, MY BLONDE BEAUTY! ONE HAS TO KEEP THEIR AUDIENCE ENGAGED SOMEHOW! AFTER ALL, I'M SURE MY NINE VEIWERS WILL LOVE WATCHING THIS! I WISH ALL THREE OF YOU LUCK, DARLINGS!"

Mettaton flew away out of earshot when Tenebris snorted. "Lost a viewer, more than likely because we chose to report on a glass of water. I'm going to have to nail him for that one."

Selendis shook her head. "Good to know you're more in-control this time, Tenebris, but how are we going to defuse bombs? I don't think we have anything that-"

As if on cue, the phone rang and Frisk answered. "D-don't worry! I installed a bomb-defusing program on your phone! Use the 'defuse' option when the bomb is in the defuse zone! N-now go get 'em!"

Tenebris frowned as the sisters went and defused the dog bomb. It was very coincidental that Alphys put such a program on the phone. It was almost as if… she knew that Mettaton would use bombs like this. He shook his head; he would have to bring it up with the sisters later.

He rejoined them as they slipped through the orange and blue lasers again after removing the video game bomb. Frisk gave him an odd look. "What were you doing?"

"Pondering. Let's just get this over with." She shrugged as they continued on. After defusing the script, present, and basket-bomb, Alphys told them she trapped the glass of water, which had been flying around erratically, in the center of the room.

When the sisters went to defuse it, Tenebris looked at the big bomb and smirked. Mettaton's attention was clearly on the sisters, as if waiting he expected this to happen. "I wonder what he would say if I did THIS." Lifting it up with his strength-enhancing aura, he chucked it into the lava far below.

Mettaton came over right as Frisk defused the last bomb. "WELL DONE, DARLINGS! NO IDEA WHERE THE SHADOW-EYED HUMAN WENT, BUT REGARDLESS, YOU'VE DEACITVATED ALL OF THE BOMBS! IF YOU DIDN'T DEACTIVATE THEM, THE BIG BOMB WOULD HAVE EXPLODED IN TWO MINUTES. NOW IT WON'T EXPLODE IN TWO MINUTES, SADLY. IT'LL EXPLODE IN TWO SECONDS! GOODBYE, DARLINGS, ESPECIALLY YOU, MY BLONDE BEAU-"

"Ahem." Mettaton turned to see Tenebris standing where the big bomb was with his arms folded. "You really should pay attention, Mettaton."

"AH… IT SEEMS THAT'S THE CASE… THROWING THE BOMB OVER THE EDGE IS A CLEVER TACTIC, DESPITE THE QUESTION OF HOW YOU MANAGED TO LIFT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE."

Frisk put the phone on speaker for Alphys. "Y-yeah! Besides, even if he didn't do that, I w-would of… of f… fix… um… ch-change…"

Mettaton quickly grumbled something under his breath before exclaiming, "OH, SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT EVEN IF HE DIDN'T DO THAT, YOU WOULD HAVE DEACTIVATED THE BOMB WITH YOUR HACKING SKILLS."

"Y-yeah, that's what I would have done!"

"CURSES! I'VE BEEN FOILED AGAIN! CURSE YOU HUMANS! CURSE YOU, DR. ALPHYS, FOR HELPING THEM SO MUCH! AND MOST OF ALL, CURSE YOU SHADOW-EYED HUMAN FOR CONSTANTLY BEING ONE STEP BEHIND ME! BUT I DON'T CURSE MY EIGHT WONDERFUL VIEWERS FOR-"

Tenebris cut him off. "Going to stop you right there. You claim yourself to be a big-shot entertainer, but I've seen otherwise. Not only did you only have TEN viewers at the beginning, but you LOST two by the end. Looks like you're all bark, no bite, Mettaton!" He points at the robot with a smug grin.

That certainly raised Mettaton's enmity towards him. "HMPH, THAT'S BECAUSE NOT MANY MONSTERS READ THE NEWS. I HAVE _FAR_ MORE VIEWERS THAT WHAT YOU'VE SEEN THIS TIME. AS MUCH AS I'D LIKE TO FLAUNT, I HAVE TO GO." Mettaton flew away, clearly peeved.

Tenebris chuckled under his breath he regrouped with the sisters. "Karma's cold, isn't it?" Selendis chose not to comment, since she got some catharsis from that exchange.

Frisk on the other hand was somewhat disturbed. She didn't pay much attention before, but the last two times Mettaton did this gave her a sense of deja-vu, like she's done this many times before. Yet as far as she knew, this was the first time ever going through the Underground. She was starting to wonder if it had something to do with her ability to SAVE, LOAD, and RESET.

She was jarred out of her thoughts when Alphys spoke up. "W-wow… w-we really showed him, huh?" There was silence as Frisk noted Tenebris staring flatly at the phone. "H-hey, I know I was kind of weird at first, but I really think I'm getting more… m-more, uh, confident about guiding you three! Tenebris, you doing things like that really help, um, m-move things along faster! B-but anyways, don't worry about that big dumb robot. I'll help protect you three from him!" She hesitated for a second, catching Selendis' attention. "A-and if it really came down to it… we could always just t-turn… um, never mind! Later!"

Frisk shook her head as Alphys hung up. "Tenebris, I'd like to know why you're being suspicious of her."

Tenebris sighed. "Again, I'm paper-thin. Anyways, don't you guys find it… too convenient we have a bomb defusing program on this phone?"

Selendis was about to object, but thought about it a bit more. "Yeah, you're right actually. I wasn't questioning it then because we were busy trying to defuse bombs but…"

"And think about it. Alphys upgraded our phone, yet we never had to "update" it during our trek through Hotland. Plus, there's that button for a jetpack." He pointed it out. "If I had to hazard a guess, that was intended for that cooking show scenario, I just simply made it useless thanks to Mettaton's taunting and my jump aura."

Frisk Looked between the two older humans. "Wait, what are you trying to get at?"

Selendis shook her head. "I hate to admit it, but I think we're being played for fools here. The only way Alphys would install such things onto the phone without sending updates is because… she knew it would happen in the first place! That means she and Mettaton are working togather."

Now Frisk was panicking. "A-are you saying that Alphys is being a double agent?" She desperately wanted to believe that the scientist wouldn't want to screw them over; why else would she give them such options?

Tenebris growled. "In other words, a traitor. I knew there was a reason why I still didn't trust her and here it is!"

"A bit harsh, Tenebris, but I can't see it any other way." Selendis sighed. "That means we must take everything she says and does for us with a grain of salt. And Frisk? I wanted to believe she was really on our side as well, but as it turns out, the only ones truly on our side are the skeletons." Her little sister let out a whimper and she rubbed her head. "I know it's painful… but that's how it is. While I don't agree with Flowey's "kill or be killed" line-of-thought, it's still just us against the Underground."

Tenebris shook his head. "Sorry, kid. Anyways, we should get going; Alphys might get suspicious if we dawdle for too long."

Frisk, now somewhat despondent, nodded slowly. When they got another glimpse of the core, Alphys called and asked if they were worried about meeting Asgore before attempting to reassure them. After that, they entered another elevator and went up to Left Floor 3.

The first thing they saw had Selendis freeze and turn blue in horror. There, manning what looked like a very basic pastry shop, was a female spider monster. Frisk, forgetting her despondency, whimpered again. "I forgot. Selendis has arachnophobia… and that area looks like the spider bake sale I stumbled across in the ruins."

Tenebris shot a worried look at Selendis. He's never seen her so scared before and, from the looks of things, doesn't want to move forward. He tried encouraging her with Frisk, but to no avail. He finally sighed. "Take my hand."

That knocked her out of her stupor. "H-huh?"

"Take my hand and close your eyes. I'll lead you through and make sure nothing touches you."

Selendis slowly took his out-stretched hand before squeezing her eyes shut and let him guide her through. Frisk, while knowing that Selendis was scared stiff of the situation, smiled at the sight. It was the first time the two ever held hands like that and the fact at Tenebris being very sweet to her by guiding her through her phobia. She made sure to talk to the spider monster, who seemed somewhat displeased that none of them were doing business, despite the outrageous prices.

Selendis managed to recover when they reached a room full of steam vents and got a call from Alphys telling them that it's the same puzzle as before. They did the one that was to their left when they entered first, then the other one in record time, though the trio had a run-in with a Vulkin and a Tsunderplane. The way the plane-like monster treated Tenebris made Selendis a little angry.

Unfortunately, after passing through the now unlocked door, Selendis noticed the smell of cobwebs beginning to appear and slowly became petrified again. They tried the same thing as before, but Selendis was a little more aware of how she felt about Tenebris hand-holding her like that.

Of course it was drained from her as soon as a voice rang out. "Ahuhuhuhu… did you hear what the just said?" Frisk and Tenebris looked around, startled, while Selendis squeezed her eyes shut tighter. As they tried to continue, the voice rang out again. "They said that a trio of humans will come through here. I heard that they hate spiders. I heard that they love to stomp on them."

Tenebris was getting a dreadful feeling in his stomach and looked at Frisk to reassure her. Selendis was slowly losing strength due to her phobia and the webbing they were stepping in wasn't helping.

"I heard that they like to tear their legs off. I heard…" When the humans suddenly couldn't go any further because of the webs, Selendis slowly started to sob out of fear. Suddenly the spider monster from before appeared in front of them on a separate web. "… That they're awfully stingy with their money. On top of that, a dark-eyed one destroys anything and anyone in his path."

Tenebris flinched. That was the second time he heard about someone saying he destroyed everything. Above it all, however, he was getting mad over Selendis terrified sobs.

The spider monster laughed, ignoring the sobs. "Regardless, you three think your taste is too refined for our pastries, don't you, dearies? I disagree with that notion. I think you're taste… is exactly what this next batch needs!" The trio's souls appeared over their chests as the area grew dark again.

Tenebris, knowing Selendis would be a sitting duck in this situation, turned to her. "Change of plan. Climb onto my back!" She didn't even hesitate as she almost tackled him and clutched her hands around his chest. With some quick thinking, despite the embarrassment over her breasts pressing against his back, he managed to summon dark chains, chain her to himself, and casted his strength aura before turning to Frisk. "Do you need my help as well?"

She shook her head. "Not right now."

The monster, now identified as Muffet, giggled as she observed the older female climb onto and get chained to the male. She already observed the older female having arachnophobia, which really didn't insult her that much, but wanted to see just how far the male would go for the other two. "Oh, don't be so blue dearies. I think purple is a much better look for you." She knew one was already purple, but she figured she would try anyways.

Sure enough, Tenebris' soul resisted the change, but he was still stuck on the same purple web as Frisk. Selendis kept whimpering into his shoulder, which filled him with the determination to get her through this.

The two humans dodged just spiders at first, until Muffet confused them by saying, "Oh, how rude of me! I almost forgot to introduce you three to my pet~ It's breakfast time, isn't it? Have fun, all of you~"

They kept dodging spider like normal, though they noted that these ones were faster than normal, until all three were horrified by an ungodly screech. Looking down, there was a giant spider shaped like a cupcake… and it was heading right for them.

Selendis started sobbing harder as it's chomping maw got closer to the climbing humans. Tenebris was now pissed off at the whole thing, not even bothering trying to keep calm because of how scared Selendis was. "You want to play rough, huh? _Then let's play rough_." He summoned an umbra blaster not to fire on the mutant spider, but to tackle it make it halt its progress. It screeched first in frustration, but then in surprise when the skull disappeared and the webbing right above it erupted into dark fire, blocking its path.

Muffet gasped before pouting. "Hey, that's no fair at all."

Tenebris gave her a hard glare, purple fire and dark mist erupting from his eye. "Fair? _You have no right to complain! Now back off…_ _ **unless you want to learn what true fear is!**_ "

Frisk stopped climbing and gave him a worried look. "Please stop saying that! Not only does it make things worse, but you're starting to scare even me with it!"

"Sorry but in this scenario, I can't help it."

He kept glaring at Muffet, who shivered a bit before giggling. "Temper, human. You're looking like a Grim Reaper at this point." He winced a bit, but didn't let it get to him.

When pastries started getting thrown at them, Tenebris started using barriers to block them while they dodged the spiders normally. If the spiders got a little too much, he froze the webbing with dark ice so that some would slip and fall off, though they all landed safely in a large web below.

After having her "pet" chase them two more times and some more spider and pastry dodging, Muffet giggled at how tired the two looked, with Selendis still sobbing uncontrollably. "The three of you are still alive? Ahuhuhu~ Oh my pet… it's time for dessert~"

A spider suddenly showed up with a large paper in its leg. "Huh? A telegram from the spiders in the Ruins? What? They're saying they saw you and… You didn't kill a single spider!" She suddenly started panicking. "N-not only that, but none of you even attempted to destroy anyone here! O-oh my, this has all been a BIG misunderstanding! I thought you three were people who hated spiders. Sure, one of you fears us, but I'm not bothered by that."

Frisk gave her a curious look. "It doesn't?"

"No. I understand that some people get arachnophobia for a reason, so I don't judge them. But the person who asked for your souls… they most of meant a DIFFERENT trio of humans! I apologize for all of the trouble; I'll lead you back to the path to the Core!"

She did just that, though Selendis didn't stop shivering violently even after they left the room. Sighing, Tenebris dissipated the chains and kneeled down for her to get off. "Hey, Selendis… it's fine now, there are no more spiders."

She slid off, but still kept shivering, eyes still squeezed shut with tear build-up. Frisk tried to comfort her. "Selly, there are no more spiders from here on out, they will leave us alone!"

"I-I-I-I k-know… b-but… t-t-that w-was… s-so scary…" Selendis started sobbing again.

Tenebris did something none of them were expecting. He kissed her on the top of her head reassuringly as he hugged her. "Selendis, I can assure you that you won't have to worry about it for a long while. Don't forget, Frisk and I are always here for you, so don't feel like you're all alone for things like this." He lifted her chin so that she was looking at his eyes. She had stopped sobbing and was now blushing. "Are you okay now?"

"Y-yeah. Just… give me a moment." Tenebris nodded and stood up to observe the area, walking over to a poster to read it. Frisk stayed with her sister and observed how much she was now blushing, before hearing her whisper, "Why didn't I ever see it or feel it before now?"


	20. Chapter 20: Drama to the Hotel

Selendis spent a little longer to sort out her feelings under the pre-tense of trying to find her legs again. Tenebris was understanding, but Frisk knew that her sister was already fine that way; she was fine the moment Tenebris kissed her on the head reassuringly. When he went ahead a little bit to see if there was anything waiting for them in the next room, Frisk gave her sister a knowing smile. "So how do you feel about him?"

Selendis stuttered a bit in embarrassment. "W-what are you talking about, Frisk?"

"You know what I'm talking about. I can tell you've been fine for a while, you just don't want to move yet because of certain feelings that you now have."

Selendis went completely red and looked away. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

Frisk giggled. "Come on, Selly. I know you like him a lot more now, especially after he carried you through that ordeal and reassured you the way he did."

"I… I…" Selendis sighed. "I… guess I can't get that past you. B-but can you not tell him? I-I don't think he likes me in that way anyways. Besides… I-I'm not ready to admit such feelings!" Frisk sighed, but nodded. Now she's keeping silent for the both of them. However, she didn't want to be the one to bring them together; it would cheapen the feeling if someone played match-maker. She felt it would be much better, and a lot cuter, if the two found out about each other's feelings themselves.

"I've looked ahead and, unless Mettaton smartened up and stopped using dark rooms to blind-side us, I think we're in the clear."

Selendis squeaked as Tenebris suddenly spoke. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, which earned her an odd look from him. "O-okay. I should be fine now."

He shrugged as Frisk tried to hold back giggles at how awkward her sister was acting. "If you're certain."

When they got to the next room, it was still lit up like Tenebris said. What they didn't expect was for Mettaton to suddenly say, "OH, THOSE HUMANS…" When they looked up, they saw him up on a patio wearing a dress. "COULD ONE OF THEM BE... MY ONE TRUE LOVE?"

Frisk shook her head and whispered, "So we've been in a cooking show and a news cast already. Now we're in a play."

Tenebris sighed. "Be still, my beating heart…" Selendis had to refrain from giggling at how sarcastic he sounded.

When Mettaton started going down the stairs, each step he went down resulted in a large 'thud'. He seemed oblivious to it as the humans gave him bewildered and awkward looks; it was so out of place in what was supposedly a serious scene. So much so that both Tenebris and Selendis completely forgot that they wanted to punch his literal lights out.

What threw all three of them off even more was the fact that Mettaton started singing for _Tenebris_ , not Selendis. This made Tenebris go from baffled to even more confused and Selendis was trying her best not to let it get to her; not even a full hour after she realized her feelings for Tenebris and someone was ALREADY hitting on him, albeit it was a very flamboyant robot. Frisk eyed Selendis throughout the entire ordeal. She could tell her sister was getting worked up over it.

After Mettaton finished singing, he actually put a hand on Tenebris' head, much to his displeasure. "SO SAD… SO SAD THAT YOU'RE GOING TO THE DUNGEON WITH YOUR FRIENDS." He quickly pressed a button, making all of the humans fall down a hole. "WELL, TOODLES!"

Tenebris grabbed Frisk and Selendis and managed to cast the movement-slowing darkness to slow their decent so that it wasn't painful. Selendis had to start fighting back another blush, which was helped by Mettaton flying down as well. "OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO? MY LOVE AND HIS FRIENDS HAVE BEEN CAST AWAY INTO THE DUNGEON. A DUNGEON WITH A PUZZLE SO DASTARDLY, MY PARAMOUR WILL SURELY PERISH!"

Frisk looked over and saw something they haven't seen since Snowdin. "Wait, the colored tile puzzle? I thought it wasn't working!"

"OH, SO YOU DO KNOW ABOUT IT! THEN THAT MEANS YOU KNOW ALL THE RULES, DON'T YOU?"

Tenebris slowly grew a horrified look. "I don't… remember…"

This prompted a facepalm from Selendis. "Seriously? I know it's been a few days, but it hasn't been THAT long!"

"Ex-CUSE me for not having the best memory for certain things!"

Mettaton let out an impatient cough. "REGARDLESS OF IF YOU REMEMBER THEM OR NOT, I WON'T WASTE TIME REPEATING THEM! HOWEVER, YOU'D BETTER HURRY WHEN YOU START. IF NONE OF YOU GET THROUGH IN THIRTY SECONDS…" A wall of fire suddenly appeared behind the humans, prompting them to scoot away in surprise. "YOU'LL BE INCINERATED!" Mettaton let out a laugh that sounded pretty forced. "MY POOR LOVE AND HIS FRIENDS! I'M SO FILLED WITH GRIEF, I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING! GOOD LUCK, DARLINGS!"

The timer suddenly started and the humans, reluctantly, attempted the puzzle. It wasn't going over well for them; Tenebris kept getting electrocuted, Frisk kept forgetting about the purple tiles and constantly got bit by piranhas. Selendis seemed to have the best run, only getting shocked by water once.

Right when time was about to run out, Frisk saw the path they were supposed to take, which made her feel despondent over not figuring it out sooner. Mettaton didn't help her case. "OOOOH, I'M SORRY! LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE OUT OF TIME!" The walls of flames started closing in on the humans. "HERE COMES THE FLAMES, DARLINGS! THEY'RE CLOSING IN! GETTING! CLOSER! OH MY! ANY MINUTE NOW!"

The trio quickly realized that, despite the heat from the flames, they weren't in any danger of dying. This made Frisk worry; perhaps Tenebris was right about Alphys playing them for fools, especially to make her look good. This worry was further deepened when the flames stopped and Mettaton let out an impatient cough.

Selendis counted down the time until Alphys called and said, "Watch out! I'll save you! I'm hacking into the firewall right now!" She groaned at the pun, which Tenebris chuckled at. Sure enough, the walls of fire vanished.

"OH NO! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?" Tenebris gave Mettaton an odd look. The robot was clearly growing tired of something, more than likely the charade he was in. "FOILED AGAIN BY THE BRILLIANT DOCTOR ALPHYS!" There was a pregnant pause and Mettaton groaned in irritation. "THA- "

Alphys cut him off. "That's right! Come on, Mettaton, and give up already! You'll never be able to defeat us, not as long as all four of us work together!" Selendis sighed. Alphys almost sounded like she was working off a script. "Your puzzle's over, now go home and leave us alone!"

Mettaton let out an obviously fake gasp. "PUZZLE? OVER? ALPHYS, DARLING, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? DID YOU FORGET WHAT THE GREEN TILES DO? THEY MAKE A SOUND, THEN YOU HAVE TO FIGHT A MONSTER." His voice suddenly got dangerously low. "WELL, DARLING… THAT MONSTER… IS ME!"

Everyone's souls appeared. However, this only made Tenebris grin as he summoned a scythe, eye flared up. "Oh? Does that mean I get explicit permission to beat the ever-living crap out of you?"

Mettaton hummed a bit. "I DON'T THINK SO, DARLING. WHAT WOULD MY VIEWERS SAY IF YOU "BEAT UP" THEIR STAR? I'M SURE THE BACK-LASH WOULD BE AWFUL!" This made Tenebris stop dead in his movements and prompted a worried looked from the sisters. "IF THAT'S ALL THE BRAVADO YOU HAVE, THEN THIS IS IT! SAY GOOD-BYE, DARLINGS!"

Tenebris' growled at the robot. " _You wouldn't dare…"_ He thought of something before saying. "I wonder… you're a robot. Alphys clearly programed a wide variety of emotions into, so let me ask…" His iris disappears again. _**"Do you feel fear?"**_

Mettaton shuddered violently as Frisk pulled at Tenebris' shirt. "Tenny! You need to relax; you're getting worked up again!"

"Actually, I'm very calm." Tenebris' iris reappears and he smirks. "I just wanted to see how he reacted." Both the sisters gave him a mix of astonished and… somewhat flat looks.

Mettaton snapped out of it and chuckled a bit while clapping. "Well played, Grim Reaper. Well played."

Tenebris winced a bit. "Okay, you're the third person to call me that. Do I really look like a Grim Reaper?!"

"APPERENCES ARE EVERYTHING, DARLING. I'M SURE MY VIEWERS WILL AGREE. BESIDES, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY ANSWER YOUR PHONE!" Frisk yelped when she realized the phone was still ringing in her hands.

"H-hey! Th-this seems bad, but don't worry!" Alphys' voice rang out awkwardly. "Th-there's one last thing I installed on your phone!" Both of the older humans rolled their eyes like they were expecting it, which Mettaton noted. "You see that yellow button? Press it!"

Frisk pressed it and suddenly her soul moved to have its point facing Mettaton before suddenly turning yellow. This caught all three humans off guard, with Selendis saying, "That's a thing?!"

"Now press Z!"

Frisk did and her soul shot a little yellow projectile every time she pressed it. The shots hit Mettaton, but Tenebris noted that the impact wasn't as… great as made them out to be. His thought process was cut off when Mettaton let out a fake gasp of pain. "OOOH! OOOOOOOOH! YOU'VE DEFEATED ME! HOW CAN THIS BE. YOU WERE STRONGER THAN I THOUGHT, ETC." Mettaton didn't even try to hide his boredom, especially when he flew off saying, "WHATEVER."

Selendis shook her head. "I think Mettaton's growing very… weary of this entire ordeal as well."

Alphys suddenly spoke up over the phone. "L-looks like you beat him! Y-you did a really great job out there."

The two older humans opted to remain silent, but Frisk gave them a defiant look before saying, "All thanks to you!"

She got weird looks as Alphys stuttered. "What? Oh no, I mean… you three were the ones doing everything cool! I just wrote some silly program for your phone." Selendis raised an eyebrow. If making a program that can turn a soul into a projectile-shooter is silly for her, she definitely earned some points.

Alphys was silent for a bit until she said, "Umm, h-hey, this might sound strange, but… c-can I tell you three something? B-before I met any of you, I d-didn't really… I didn't really like myself very much. For a long time, I f-felt like a total screw up. L-like I couldn't do anything w-without… ending up letting everyone down." That hit Tenebris right in the guilt and he felt immensely bad for calling her a traitor.

"B-but… guiding all three of you has made me feel… a lot better about myself. So, thanks for letting me help you." She stayed silent for a bit before awkwardly saying, "Uhh, anyway, we're almost to the Core. It's just past MTT Resort. Come on! Let's finish this!" She ended with a lot more confidence than she ever had before as she hung up.

Tenebris let out a sad sigh. "And to think I called her a traitor… now I feel incredibly bad; she sounded so honest about it as well."

"I told you we shouldn't throw her under the bus!" Frisk stated, happy she was right about Alphys.

Selendis shook her head. "While I still think something's going on, I'm more willing to give her the benefit of the doubt now. Let's just hope it's nothing major."

"Watch it become something major…" Tenebris groaned. Tempting fate seemed to be a thing in this group.

Heading out of the color-tile area, they find the Nice Cream monster and the two royal guards that taught them how to calm down earlier. Much the trio's dismay, there was no more ice cream to be bought as the guards bought it all.

When they continued up the stairs, they found themselves outside of a fancy looking building. Beside the entrance, they saw Sans standing there. "hey."

Tenebris gave him an odd look. "What're you doing here, Sans? You're pretty far from Snowdin."

"eh, i heard you three were going to the core soon, so i decided to see you guys one last time." He shrugs nonchalantly.

Frisk beamed as best as she could at him. "I'm happy you wanted to see us off!"

He chuckles. "what are friends for, am i right? how about grabbing some dinner with me?"

Selendis was about to respond when Frisk let out a loud yawn. "We'd love to, but Frisk might need to go to bed soon. We've had quite the ordeal going through Hotland."

"I do not need to go to be- "Frisk cut herself off with another yawn.

Tenebris shook his head. "Judging by the look of this place, it's a hotel. You girls should go find us a room to stay in. I'll go with Sans; I'm not going to eat anything anyways."

Selendis gave him a very worried look. "Are… you certain?"

Tenebris was about to question her question when he remembered why. "Don't worry, I swear I won't come back half-dead or an emotional wreak."

"Al… alright. If you're confident. I… I'm just worried about what might happen this time…" Sans noted how timid she suddenly was with him and made a mental note to ask Frisk about it later.

"Alright, I'll try and be back as soon as possible… provided I can find which room you're staying at." Frisk giggled before yawning again. Selendis shot him one final worried look before herding her little sister inside. "Alright, Sans. Going to use another "shortcut"?"

He chuckles. "can't get that past you anymore, now can i? yeah, hold on tight." Not even a moment later and the both of them were in some kind of fancy restaurant. "well, here we are." He let out a sigh. "so… your journey's almost over, huh?"

Tenebris nodded. "Y-yeah. We… just have to slip past Asgore somehow and we'll be back on the surface."

"judging by that, you must really wanna go home." Tenebris averted his gaze and Sans instantly knew he was hiding something. "Or… why are you doing this if not to go home?"

"Well… I'll be forward with you, Sans. I did want to stay down here… all three of us did. However, my… inner demons tormented me into going back to the surface, back to where I initially lived."

"i'm guessing to collect a memento of your family or something along those lines?" Sans chuckled at Tenebris' startled look. "hey, i know the feeling of wanting to keep the memories of family close to you. i… do have to wonder if it's really worth it in the end…"

"What are you…?"

"eh… it's nothing. jus' know, I'm rooting for the three of you." Sans went silent for a bit while Tenebris tried to figure out what he meant. Sans thought of something and said, "hey, let me tell you a story. so… I'm a sentry in snowdin forest, right? i sit out there and watch for humans, but it's kind of boring."

Tenebris chuckled. "With the traffic you get, it must be a riot."

"i know, right? anyways, deep in the forest, there's this HUGE locked door. it's perfect for practicing knock-knock jokes. so one day, I'm knocking them out as usual, one time i say "knock knock," i suddenly hear a woman's voice say "who is there?" naturally, i respond: "dishes." "dishes who?" "dishes a very bad joke.""

Tenebris burst into laughter. "W-wow. I need to remember that one!"

Sans chuckled again. "yeah, and just like you, she just howls in laughter like it's the best joke she's heard in a hundred years. So I keep 'em coming and she keeps laughing. up until you and the kid, she was the best audience I've ever had."

"Glad to know we were a good audience."

"don't worry, you were. anyways, after I knock a dozen of them, she does her own. "old lady." old lady who?" "i didn't know you could yodel!"" Sans noticed that Tenebris was had a look of realization pass over his face. "what is it, bud?"

"I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. That woman you were swapping knock-knock jokes with? She's the reason why all three of us didn't initially want to go back to the surface."

Sans widened his eyes. "no kidding? you would have never gone through that door had it not been for your 'inner demons'?"

"Yeah. Her name is Toriel and she wanted to adopt all three of us." Seeing the skeleton's inquisitive look, he sighed. "All three of us lost our parents in accidents. I got off lucky because my parents were… decently well off before passing. The sisters? Not quite as lucky, but they managed. I'm still amazed over Selendis telling me Frisk was able to get over it faster than she was."

"wow… well, that kid is very determined, to be sure. but… wait, you never said they wanted to get something from the surface like you did."

"Caught on, did you?" Tenebris let out a saddened sigh. "Maybe now they want to, but initially I was the only one who NEEDED to go, if only to give myself some form of internal peace. I was going to go by myself, but they insisted on coming with me. She's where I learned the bare-bones basics of managing my magic to not go out of control, but…"

Sand noticed how down-trodden the shadow-eyed human suddenly became. "hey, bud, don't worry about it too much. i'm sure they knew what they were doing." He let out a chough before continuing, "anyway, one day i notice she wasn't laughing very much. of course, I asked her what was up besides the ceiling. Then she told me something strange. "if a human ever comes through this door, could you please, please promise something? watch over them and protect them, will you not?""

Tenebris realized that, perhaps, the only reason why Sans didn't try and attack them on sight like the other sentries except Papyrus was because of Toriel. Sans kept going, "now, i hate making promises and toriel, i didn't even know her name at the time. but… someone who sincerely likes bad jokes has an integrity you can't say no to… like you, bud."

Tenebris chuckled weakly. "Glad to know I also have that level of integrity as well. Don't know if it served me any good, but hey."

"i'm sure it did, but do you get what I'm saying? that promise i made to her… you know what would have happened if she hadn't said anything… buddy?" Sans went silent for a second before opening his eyes, the lights gone. " ** _You'd be dead where you three stood._** "

Tenebris broke into a cold sweat again, though nowhere near as bad as before. "Sheesh, guess I'm getting some karma for looking like a Grim Reaper to some monsters."

Sans' expression changed from intimidating to worried. He was really starting to regret teaching Tenebris the disappearing iris trick. He figured he would not teach him should a reset ever come to pass. "w-wow, bud. how much have you used the trick i taught you?"

"Only three times as far as I know, and the third time was more of a fake-out rather than a legitimate one." Tenebris thought of something and nervously clapped his hands. "But, uh… how about I tell you a joke you can tell to Toriel later, provided you haven't heard or said it yet." Sans nodded; he figured the distraction would be good. "Knock-knock."

"who's there?"

"Lettuce."

"haven't heard this one. lettuce who?"

"Lettuce in! Lettuce in!"

Sans burst out laughing. "that is definitely a good one. i'll have to remember that. well… i suppose that's all i wanted to talk about." He walks away from the table before turning back to Tenebris. "guess i can tell you. i saw a note saying there was a shop selling some stuff in the other alleyway. you should check it out if you're in need of new equipment; maybe it'll be worth your time. anyways, take care of yourself."

"I will. Thanks for the info, Sans." The skeleton nodded before teleporting away. Tenebris knew that Selendis would worry if he didn't go back as soon as possible, but he was curious about that alley shop, so he headed there.

When he got there, he was greeted by a monster cat and alligator, both girls. The cat noticed him first and said, "Oh, hey there! Glad to see someone stop by!"

The alligator was about to greet Tenebris as well when she suddenly stopped dead. "Oh my gosh… are you… the 'Shadow-eyed human'?!"

Tenebris took a nervious step back as the cat monster realized it. "Y-you mean… the Grim Reaper?" They suddenly squealed, not in fear, but in delight. "OH MY GOSH, I CAN'T BELIEVE WE GET TO MEET YOU!"

"Wh-whoa! You're sending me mixed messages here. Why are you two… um… fangirling over me when I'm called the "Grim Reaper?"

The cat spoke up first. "I mean, like, yeah you totally looked scary when you adopted your Grim Reaper look, but it was the awesome kind of scary."

The alligator giggled. "Yeah, we've so never seen such a badass look on anyone besides Mettaton!" Tenebris was about to interject when she suddenly said, "Oh my gosh, could you, like, totally show us and stuff?!"

"Girls… it's not exactly something I'm proud to throw around, okay? I only wanted to use it as a scare tactic, but… I've been using it too much, even if that last one was purely a fake-out."

Both of the monster girls calmed down after that until the cat spoke up, "Oh, I guess that explains why it wasn't a true scary…"

The alligator smiled a bit. "It was still awesome though. But we've so been bad shop-keepers. How can we help you?"

Tenebris looked at what they had. They pointed out the 'junk food', which really didn't appeal to him. What caught his eye was the pair of revolvers and a cowboy hat. "Where did you get those?"

"Oh, those? We, um- "

"We found them in the garbage!" The cat interjected, before putting a paw over her mouth, like she wasn't supposed to say that.

Tenebris chuckled. "At least you cleaned them pretty good." Looking at the guns for a bit longer, an idea formed in his head. "Could I see those for a moment?"

The alligator shrugged. "I don't see why not, as long as you don't try and run off with them."

"Not running off with them, but something else." The girls gave him a confused look as he focused. Suddenly, the revolvers were enveloped in a black sphere of magic, prompting a gasp. When the spheres vanished, in the place of the revolvers were what looked like two black hand cannon guns with a barrel similar to a revolver's barrel.

The two girls squeed. "That was SO COOL!"

Tenebris chuckled. "First time ever doing that too."

The alligator suddenly started scrounging around for empty cans. "Here, let me set up some targets for you to- wait… do you have any ammunition?"

"No, but part of the reason why I did this was to replace physical ammunition with magic bullets."

The cat squeed again as the alligator continued setting up the cans. "That's doubly cool! You know what? Every badass needs a pair of guns eventually, so I think we can give those to you for free!"

That caught Tenebris off guard. "Really? Thanks, though I will pay for the hat."

After Tenebris put on the hat after giving the cat the gold for it, he fired at the cans the alligator set up for him. Each time he pulled the trigger, a heavy sound rang out and a can was hit with a dark purple projectile. The two girls told him to name the pair and he opted for "Nosferatu"; one gun was "Nos" and the other was "Feratu".

After that, he headed back inside the hotel to see Selendis entering the lobby from the right entrance. She gave him a surprised look when he approached. "Where did you get the hat? Wait, scratch that! Are you okay? I heard gun-fire and I thought-"

Tenebris held up his hands. "Whoa, okay. Let's get back to the room; I'll tell you there." She reluctantly agreed. When they entered, he was astonished by how huge the bed was, but had his heart melted at the sight of a sleeping Frisk. "Alright, those gun shots? That was actually me."

"You?" When he pulled out Nos and Feratu, she gaped at him. "Where did you find guns?"

"Same place I got this hat, only the guns were free. They were initially empty revolvers, but I changed that."

"W-why would you need _A_ gun, let alone two?"

He shrugged. "Extra fire-power?" She facepalmed at that. "Besides, it might help for whatever Mettaton might be scheming."

She gave him an apprehensive look. "Do you even know how to handle those things?"

"I shouldn't, but when I morphed them, it felt like I had been using them for years. Guess it's because they're tied directly to my magic, since they shoot magic bullets."

Selendis' look went from apprehensive to worried before sighing. "Alright… I trust you, you know that? Me and Frisk both." He gave her a confused look as she yawned. "Well… I should probably go to sleep. Good night." With that, she crawled into bed beside Frisk and cuddled with her.

Tenebris sighed as he sat on a nearby chair; he didn't feel like sleeping at all tonight. The one thing he missed was Selendis blushing as she looked at him from the corner of her eye. While she knew he wouldn't, she secretly wished he would crawl into bed with her.

* * *

For those of you who need a more accurate image of Tenebris' new guns, think of Alucard's guns from Hellsing Ultimate with a revolver barrel right above the trigger.


	21. Chapter 21 - The Core of the Setting

About Tenebris' guns, Nos and Feratu, if you want a video game equivalent, think of Dante's duel guns from Devil May Cry, both appearance and sound, plus the revolver barrels. Also, if you guys want colors, Nos is jet-black with purple writing, while Feratu is dark purple with black writing.

/

Tenebris tried, and failed, to fall asleep in the darkness of the hotel room. Whether it's from his fear of Mettaton pulling a cheap shot or straight up wanting to prevent nightmares from manifesting themselves, he didn't know. As a result, he spent a fair amount of time observing the sisters sleep.

It warmed his heart to see them cuddling so closely with each other while they slept. He also blushed whenever he thought about crawling into bed with them, primarily because of Selendis. He recalled her becoming a bit timider than usual and wondered if it was because of her massive scare/panic attack with the spiders. Or was it because of what he did to reassure her?

He sighed. _No way that could be the case; she would never feel the same way about me as I do for her. Hell would freeze over before that would happen… I really got to stop thinking like this. I won't know until after I ask her._

Deciding he needed to get out of the rather stuffy room, he wrote a note to the sisters saying that if he wasn't back by the time they wake up, he would be in the hamburger shop in the hotel. Placing it on the chair, he leaves the room and entered the shop.

"Welcome to MTT-Brand Burger Emporium, home of the Glamburger. Sparkle up your day (TM)." Tenebris looked to see a cat-like monster manning the store. His face seemed to be a mix of bored and depressed, considering the place was dead despite a bunch of monsters still being active outside. "How can I help you, O customer."

The shadow-eyed human hummed. "What's your recommendation?"

The monster tensed up a bit. "Well… the Starfaits are great for cooling off or quenching your thirst."

"Sounds good. I'll have a glass of that."

He seemed overjoyed that Tenebris was buying something. "Thanksy! Have a FABU-FUL day!"

Tenebris chuckled; at least he made someone's day or night better. "Do you mind if we chat? You don't seem to get that many customers, so I figured I would keep you company."

"W-well… I hate to say this, but I'll get in trouble if I get chummy with the customers. Sorry." Tenebris sighed, but nodded as he sipped on his drink. The monster felt legitimately bad about it; this customer looked like he was having a massive bout with insomnia. After studying him a bit more, he suddenly realized something. "Wait, aren't you the shadowy-eyed human Mettaton called the Grim Reaper?"

Said human winced but nodded. "Yeah… my name's Tenebris."

"My name is… well everyone calls me Burgerpants, so that's what I go by now." Seeing Tenebris' concerned look, he smiles a bit. "And to think it's a human who would first show concern over that prospect. Don't worry about me, I'm used to that. More importantly, I'm a BIG fan of you!"

"Wait, why are you a big fan of me? For that matter, why is it that everyone who recognizes me doesn't fear me?"

Burgerpants chuckled. "Probably because you played it off as a fake-out. That's not why I'm a fan, though. You're the first person who has EVER challenged or insulted Mettaton right in his face and the fact that you gave him a scare was just the icing on the cake!"

Tenebris looked at some of the décor in the shop. "This place is owned by Mettaton and you're one of his employees, right? The way you said that makes it sound like you HATE your boss."

"Ah, yes." Burgerpants launched into the explanation like he had been rehearsing it for a while. From making him regret his wishes to commenting that Mettaton vetoes any changes that are largely considered good. Tenebris expressed disgust over hamburgers being made of sequins and glue, which Burgerpants was happy being right about.

Tenebris shook his head. "The deepest ocean trench in the world wouldn't be able to drown that robot's ego…"

"I agree. Hey, do you mind if I light up a cigarette?" Tenebris waved it off as he took another drink. Burgerpants made a happy and relieved sound as he lit one. "I seriously don't get to do this at all, even on my breaks… if I ever get any."

"Sounds like another thing to… dismantle that rust bucket for."

Burgerpants chuckled. "As much as I hate Mettaton, I would advise against that as it would be counted as killing him… I think. I have an alternative, though." Tenebris leaned in to listen. "Alright, you know how much of a glory hog he is, right? Well, if he ever confronts you and you happen to see a "ratings board", do your damnedest to out shine him. That'll show him you're not to be messed with!"

Tenebris frowned. "Thing is, yesterday there was only about eight to ten people watching his programs."

Burgerpants snorted. "Yeah, he complained that yesterday was a slow day overall, even after you and your companions were brought in. I'm willing to bet today will be a bigger turnout, so my point still stands. Try and get a bigger increase in the ratings than he does and it SHOULD help… and I'm sorry if it doesn't, but it's all I have right now!"

"Any suggestions for raising the ratings? The only thing I can think of is posing… and I'm not sure if badass poses work."

"Very much so, especially if you a dramatic one while injured. Eating or drinking a popular item like that Starfait you're having will also increase the ratings. Last one I would recommend doing is boasting about not getting hit; for some reason, the tv watchers seem to love that."

Tenebris nodded, trying to commit all of that to memory. "Thanks, dude. Hopefully putting Mettaton in his place will brighten your future."

Burgerpants lets out a depressed sigh. "I hate to be a sudden downer, but… future? WHAT future? Nothing down here EVER changes. I'll probably be stuck at this stupid job forever." Tenebris now looked guilty and Burgerpants panicked before thinking of something. "BUT! There's one thing that keeps me going! If Asgore gets just one more human soul, we'll finally get to go to the surface! And… uh… by one more soul, I don't mean you or your companions."

"I thought you would of…"

"No. You are a great guy and I wouldn't wish that fate on you or your companions." He thinks about something for a moment. "Actually, they came in yesterday. While they didn't buy anything, the kid brought a smile to my face, something I never thought would happen. The older girl as well; she was so kind."

"Yeah that sounds like them. Speaking of, I should probably head back. Could I get… maybe six Starfaits to go?" Tenebris started counting his money.

Burgerpants chuckled as he prepared the drinks in sealable to-go containers. "I'll give you a discount on them. I can't discount too much, else Mettaton will know what's up, but that's fine. All I ask is that you give him a bad time!"

"Will do." After gathering the drinks and bidding Burgerpants good-bye, Tenebris headed back to the room, where the sisters were starting to wake up. "Wakey wakey, sleepy heads!"

"Five more minutes, please…" Tenebris had to look away to hide his blush at how cute Selendis sounded. Frisk opened an eye just in time to see him look away and she hid a smirk.

When the trio where ready to go, they called up Alphys and told her they were moving further into the core. She informed them that she has a map of the Core, so they shouldn't worry about getting lost. What threw her off was when the humans saw some monsters head through the entrance to said Core. "N-nobody else is s-supposed to be here… I would say we can't worry about it now… but I think you should keep an eye out for anything. I've got a mildly bad feeling about this."

Selendis groaned. "It's still too early to be worrying about things…"

"You never were an early bird, were you Selly?" Frisk teased her still drowsy sister. Tenebris chuckled nervously; he didn't want them thinking he never got sleep.

Alphys told them that the elevator would take them to the top of the Core, but it wasn't working. "That's… not right… u-um, I guess we have to go the long way. Go right from there."

When they went right, all the trio was met with was a pit of fire. Frisk frowned. "She sounded so confident about this being the right way too…"

Sure enough, Alphys was baffled over the existence of the pit. When the humans went the other way, they got ambushed by a Madjick. While the pun wasn't lost on Tenebris, Selendis was quickly annoyed by its orb attacks. "Tenebris, could you find a way to get rid of those things?"

"I think I already have a way." Tenebris quickly pulled out Nos and Feratu and fired a round at each orb. Both orbs cracked and the monster immediately didn't want to battle anymore, which resulted in it getting spared.

Alphys was still on the phone as Madjick left. "Th-that was close… why… are there so many active monsters here?"

Frisk sighed and shook her head. "That could explain why we saw monsters coming here as well."

"That's all fine and dandy, but it was almost as if that one was… _waiting_ , for us." Tenebris gripped his guns tighter. "I've got a bad feeling about all of this. Alphys, cross-reference your map of the Core to its current layout. If that first blunder was anything significant, the Core's layout has probably shifted."

"O-okay. I'll stay on the line as I do that, though." The humans nodded to each other before moving forward. Finding a force-field and some deactivated lasers, he quickly said, "Um, before I do that, the lasers will activate after you hit the switch. They will come in the order of orange, orange, and blue."

Selendis didn't look convinced. "Are you positive about that, Alphys?"

"I… actually I'm not. If I'm wrong, I'm truly sorry." The trio prepared themselves before Frisk threw the switch. As Selendis was suspicious of, the order was actually blue, blue, and orange. When she was informed, Alphys was appalled. "I… guess I was wrong. H-has everything changed like Tenebris suspected?"

Frisk gave the phone a worried look. Alphys was slowly losing her confidence. "I hate to say it, but maybe it has…"

"I-I guess you guys are on your own, I hate to admit. I don't want t-to point you into a-any traps. I'm sorry." Alphys hung up after that. The trio shot each other worried looks; if Alphys was getting things wrong in an area she SHOULD know, something was up.

At the next juncture, they tried going left, only to run into Knight Knight. Selendis noticed the monster looked tired, yet alert. Remembering Shyren's song, she started singing it and the monster soon fell asleep. Tenebris suddenly felt sleepy himself from hearing the song and wished he listened to it last night. It didn't help that Selendis' voice sounded very pretty.

When they found another bunch of lasers, Alphys called again. "O-okay. I won't be messing around this time. I'll deactivate the lasers for you!"

There was a pregnant pause as the lasers continued to remain on. Tenebris sighed. "Uh… that doesn't look very deactivated…"

"I-I'm trying, yet they're… not turning off. I _can't_ turn them off… l-looks like I'll just have t-to cut off that whole node's power!" This time the lasers, as well as the lights, shut off. "There, that should be good!"

Selendis rolled her eyes as they continued. "Does something finally- "

"Selly, don't say anything!" Frisk cut in with a worried tone.

Sure enough, Alphys suddenly yelled, "W-WAIT, STOP!" The humans did, just as the power suddenly flickered back on. All three of them grew pale when they realized they were trapped in a field of blue lasers. "The power is… turning itself back on! D-damn it… th-this isn't supposed to…" Selendis let the curse pass by; Alphys sounded like she was desperately trying to hold onto her confidence. "I'm going to turn it back off. Once it is, move a little, then stop again. I'll keep it up until you get across safely."

"Thankfully, it's easy to tell when the power forces itself back on." Tenebris commented, tempted to twirl Nos, but refrained under the assumption that the laser would hurt him if he did. As Alphys said, the power turned back off and the humans made a run for the other side, screeching to a halt whenever the lights flickered back on.

Once all three were across without a scratch, Alphys finally regained some confidence… only to lose it again when she informed them that she confirmed that her map didn't match up at all with the Core's layout. The trio didn't know what to do; if Alphys went out of her way to make a map, then the Core could be a maze, one that would take a good while to get through.

Going left from the next juncture, they found a puzzle similar to the ones in Hotland. This one had a fair amount of difficulty, which took until Selendis' third try to solve. At one point, Frisk found a Glamburger in the trash that was still in decent condition, though she was reluctant to keep it after Tenebris told her what it was made of.

When they reach a path with a sign saying that The End will open if traversed, they found themselves attacked by more guard monsters. The first group was a Whimsalot and a Final Froggit. The Froggit was easy enough to pacify when Tenebris mystified it with his shadow magic, but when Frisk prayed for safety, the words he spoke made Tenebris feel strangely sad: "There's still hope!"

Both Selendis and the Whimsalot noticed this. "Tenebris, what's wrong?"

"Ah… I'm sorry. I suppose, as someone who had once lost all hope, that sentence… struck a chord with me."

Whimsalot fluttered up to him. "Don't give up, o shadow-eyed human. Thou may has't a soul covered with darkness, but thou has true companions with whom thou has chosen to walk the path of light with. There is no greater calling than that." With that, the monster flew away.

Frisk waited a bit before nodding. "He's right, Tenny! Besides… what do you mean by calling yourself "someone who has lost all hope"?"

Tenebris sighed and shook his head. "Being experimented on and losing one's parents has a way of obliterating the very prospect of hope. I… guess I was able to recover it."

Selendis gives him an odd look. "When did you start recovering it?"

"Truthfully… when I first met you two. Sure, it was a slow recovery and I've had some dives, but in the long run you two have instilled so much hope in me… and for that, I'm grateful." He bows courteously to them, which made Frisk extremely happy for him. Selendis had to look away to hide her burning blush, but deep down, she was thankful she was able to do something for him long term.

When they tried to continue, they got ambushed again, this time by another Knight Knight and Madjick. Tenebris tried shooting the orbs again, but this Madjick was smart enough to keep its orbs moving to avoid the bullets. He managed to drag it away, allowing Selendis to put Knight Knight asleep, before landing a round in each orb and pacifying it.

The final ambush came from another Final Froggit, another Whimsalot, and an Astigmatism. At Frisk's suggestion, Tenebris was the one to pray for safety which made the Whimsalot remember his conscience. Selendis managed to mystify Final Froggit, though they were caught off guard when the Astigmatism told them to pick on it. Tenebris did, somewhat out of spite, and it didn't care anymore.

After hitting the switch and wandering around lost for a little while longer, they found the elevator that was connected to the one earlier next to the supposed exit to the core. Tenebris got a feeling that something big was ahead, so he gave two Starfaits to each of the sisters, who were confused about it. All he said was, "I'll let you know what those are for soon."

When they entered, they staggered for a bit as their eyes adjusted. The room they just entered was far darker than the rest of the Core. When they got to the center of the room, they found Mettaton sitting there. Selendis spoke up first with a rather tired, "It's you."

"OH YES IT'S ME. YOU'VE FINALLY ARRIVED, MY DARLINGS. WELL… IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN." This tipped the humans off to something being wrong. "IT'S TIME FOR THE THREE OF YOU TO FINALLY STOP… THE "MALFUNCTIONING" ROBOT… NOT!"

Tenebris grinned. "I don't know… maybe you could do with a few fixing tweaks here and there."

Mettaton scoffed. "I'LL GO OVER YOU IN A SECOND, SHADOW-EYED HUMAN. BUT I DIGRESS… MALFUNCTION? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL. THIS… WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW; AN ACT. ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU THREE FOR FOOLS FOR… MOST OF THE TIME; I'LL COME BACK TO THAT IN A SECOND AS WELL. AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON HER CAMERAS, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO THE ADVENTURES YOU THREE HAD… SO MUCH SO THAT SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT."

Both Tenebris and Selendis didn't break their straight faces; they had both known something was up ever since Mettaton had started to grow weary of it. Frisk, on the other hand, was struggling coming to terms with their earlier suspicions coming true; she desperately wanted to believe Alphys had good intentions.

Mettaton continued in spite of Frisk's conflicted look. "SO SHE DECIDED TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY. SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES, DISABLED ELEVATORS, AND INLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU… ALL SO SHE COULD SAVE YOU FROM DANGERS THAT DIDN'T EXIST. ALL SO YOU WOULD THINK SHE'S THE GREAT PERSON… THAT SHE'S NOT."

"Wow, what did she ever do to you to earn THAT remark?" Tenebris shook his head. "I knew you were growing tired of the whole situation, but that's just excessive." The sisters look at each other; they never thought of it that way.

"HEH… MAYBE I _AM_ A BIT SPITEFUL FROM ALL OF THIS. THING IS, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, SHE'S WAITING OUTSIDE OF THE ROOM. DURING OUR "BATTLE" SHE WILL INTERRUPT AND PRETEND TO DEACTIVATE ME, "SAVING" YOU ONE LAST TIME. THROUGH THIS ACT, SHE WILL BECOME THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE AND WILL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU THREE NOT TO LEAVE… OR NOT, I REALLY DON'T KNOW."

Selendis frowned. "Why would she not want us to leave, current situation aside?"

Mettaton actually shrugged. "TRUTHFULLY, SHE NEVER TOLD ME. ALL I KNOW IS; I'M GETTING TIRED OF THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE. BESIDES, ALL THREE OF YOU CAUGHT ONTO IT MID-WAY THROUGH ANYWAYS, SO I'M PRETTY SURE I'M NOT ALONE ON THIS." He suddenly pointed at Tenebris. "IN FACT, WHILE ALL THREE OF YOU KEPT IT INTERESTING TO MAKE IT BEARABLE, TENEBRIS WAS ESPECIALLY INTERESTING."

"Yeah, I helped keep it interesting by making you rust your pants… if you even have any." Selendis facepalmed at that.

Mettaton actually chuckled. "I WILL CONCIDE, YOU DID FRIGHTEN ME. THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT, THOUGH. I ENJOYED GETTING AGGRESSIVE REACTIONS OUT OF YOU THROUGH FLIRTING WITH SELENDIS. IT WAS QUITE AMUSING TO SEE YOU BREAK THE PACE BECAUSE OF THAT." Selendis let out a quiet squeak that only Frisk heard, which earned her a look. She didn't realize that was the reason Tenebris kept getting worked up.

Tenebris scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah, then you started flirting with ME. Are you bisexual or something?"

"NAH, I JUST DID ALL OF IT TO GET A RISE OUT OF YOU. IN FACT, AND THIS MAY SURPRISE YOU, I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS; FAR FROM IT, ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN! AN AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, DON'T YOU AGREE? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW… WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST!"

A door suddenly slammed behind the trio, startling them. All three of them were even more shocked when Alphys' voice suddenly said, "H-hey, what's going on?! Th-th-the door just locked itself!"

Frisk had finally accepted that Alphys had, indeed, been playing them, at least up until the Core. However, with how she was acting during the Core, she knew there was no legitimate ill-will behind any of it. Full of determination, she faces Mettaton. "She still had good intentions, so bring on whatever your "plot twist" is, Mettaton!"

The older humans gave her a confused look, only for Tenebris so shrug his arms and Selendis to roll her eyes. Mettaton simply chuckled. "MY, MY. SUCH FIRE. SORRY, FOLKS! BUT THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELED! BUT WE'VE GOT A FANALE THAT'LL DRIVE YOU WILD!" The humans stumbled as the floor suddenly raised itself. "REAL DRAMA, REAL ACTION, REAL BLOODSHED! ON OUR NEW SHOW: ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT!"

Everyone's souls emerged as Mettaton went grayscale. Tenebris looked around to see anything that has ratings projected onto it, but found nothing. Frisk wasn't fazed as she activated the soul mode change for her soul. Selendis looked uncertain; Frisk had her soul and Tenebris had his guns, but she didn't have anything besides a frying pan.

Tenebris suddenly thought of something. "If you had been "working with" Alphys up until now, then why was the Core so different from her map? Was it because-"

Mettaton chuckled at the mixed reactions he got before saying, "YES, I WAS THE ONE WHO REARRANGED THE CORE. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT I WAS ALSO THE ONE WHO HIRED ALL OF THOSE MONSTERS TO KILL YOU! BUT NOW I REALIZE… THAT WAS A SHORT-SIGHTED PLAN. WHAT WOULD BE A HUNDRED TIMES MORE EFFICIANT? KILLING YOU MYSELF!"

"I thought your only desire was to entertain!" Frisk shouted as she shot Mettaton with her soul.

The shots plinked off him and he chuckled. "THAT WORTHLESS PEA-SHOOTER WON'T WORK ON ME, DARLING. DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT ACTING IS?"

"That explains why the shots didn't make the sound for what damage they were supposedly doing..." Selendis commented with a worried voice.

Mettaton clapped sarcastically. "CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ACTUALLY SAW THROUGH THAT RUSE! TOO BAD IT DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING!"

"Maybe that won't do anything, but what about THESE!" Tenebris whipped out his guns and started rapid-firing them. Unlike Frisk's soul shots, these shots had the effect of knocking Mettaton around a lot, much to his surprise. "Didn't expect us to get an upgrade for our ranged capabilities, did you?"

Mettaton made an effort to dodge the bullets as he sighed. "I'LL GIVE YOU THAT, BUT I'VE SEEN THE WAY YOU THREE FIGHT. TENEBRIS IS THE ONLY ONE WITH ANY SORT OF "POWER" AND EVEN THEN, HE'S VERY WISHY-WASHY WITH IT. IF YOU CONTINUE FORWARD LIKE THAT, ASGORE WILL TAKE AT LEAST ONE OF YOUR SOULS. AND WITH THAT SOUL, HE WILL DESTROY HUMANITY NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS."

He suddenly fired a wave of hollow-looking boxes at the humans. Both Frisk and Tenebris were able to shoot an opening through the wave so that they wouldn't get hurt, though Selendis managed to hit one at Mettaton to distract him. "I… don't know what I can do, but I'll try my best!"

Tenebris gave Selendis a worried look over how uncertain she sounded. "Don't worry about it too much. Here, use Feratu for a bit. That way we all have ranged capability for what may come." Seeing her inquisitive look, he shakes his head. "Just trust me on this, please."

Mettaton started speaking again, "BUT IF I CAN GET ONE OF YOUR SOULS INSTEAD, I CAN STOP ASGORE'S PLAN AND SAVE HUMANITY FROM DESTRUCTION. THEN, I'LL CROSS THE BARRIER AND BECOME THE STAR I'VE ALWAYS DREAMED OF BEING!"

As he shot through Mettaton's attacks, Tenebris huffed. "You do realize that Asgore can still take another soul from one of the two survivors. Plus, the humans will have your… body donated to science if they found out you killed a human to get there!"

All that got was a dark chuckle from the robot. "SO WHAT IF SOMEONE HAD TO DIE TO GET ME THERE? THAT'S SHOW BUSINESS, BABY!"

Frisk shook her head. "That's not how show business works!"

Selendis was about to comment on that when the phone suddenly rang. Frisk answered it, but didn't put Alphys on speaker. "U-uh, I can't see what's going on in there, but… d-d-don't give up, okay?! Th… there's one last way to beat Mettaton! It's… a work in progress, so don't judge it too hard! But… y-you know how Mettaton always faces f-f-forward?" Frisk's eyes widened in realization. "That's because there's a switch on his backside. So… if you… um… turn him a-around, he'll… be-become… vulnerable."

Frisk noted the slightly despondent voice she had, but couldn't comment on it before she hung up. She suddenly said, "Mettaton, there's actually a mirror behind you!" This got odd looks from the older humans.

Mettaton bought it. "OH, A MIRROR? RIGHT, I HAVE TO LOOK PERFECT FOR OUR GRAND FANALE!" He turns around and the older humans see the switch and quickly realized what Frisk was going for. "HMM… I DON'T SEE IT. WHERE IS IT?" Tenebris quickly teleported up to him and flipped the switch. This made the robot freeze in place. "DID YOU… JUST FLIP… MY SWITCH?"

Tenebris chuckled as Mettaton started freaking out. "Ctrl alt del, Mettaton. Time for you to shut down." There was a flash and the area was suddenly covered in smoke.

"Oh yes…"

All three humans gave the general direction of Mettaton's voice a shocked look. They were even more shocked when the saw a silhouette of a humanoid. "Oh my… if you were so eager to flip my switch, that can only mean one thing: you three are desperate for the premier of my new body." He lets out a chuckle. "How rude… lucky for all three of you, I've been wanting to show this off for a long time. So, as thanks, I'll give you all a handsome reward. I'll make your last living moments- " The smoke suddenly dissipates and the humans see Mettaton as a humanoid robot, albeit still monotone in color. "- Absolutely beautiful!"

Frisk deadpanned as music started playing. "I guess that's what she meant by more vulnerable."

Selendis looked at her sister. "Alphys told you that? I suppose it makes sense; a rectangle, metal body is harder to damage than a humanoid form designed to…" She deadpans as the newly dubbed Mettaton EX began dancing and posing. "Um… designed to dance and pose."

Tenebris looked around and quickly found a "ratings board" like what Burgerpants explained to him earlier. He gave is a surprised look at the current ratings, four thousand and slowly dropping, before shaking his head. "Attacking him may not be the best course of action, as much as I hate to admit it."

"Seriously? Then what do you suggest?" Selendis folded her arms.

"This." Tenebris suddenly struck a pose. Both Mettaton and the sisters noticed the ratings go up from the pose. "Outshine him, that might be the only way out of this!"

Frisk quickly nodded and struck her own pose, which increased the ratings further. Selendis was a bit skeptical about it being the only way out besides fighting, but she sighed and posed with Frisk.

Mettaton was amazed that the humans were increasing his ratings like that, but he knew he still needed to kill them. What better way to do that than to pose and dance while doing so? "Lights! Camera! Action!"

The trio broke their poses to dodge and/or fire at Mettaton's attacks. They dodged a flurry of magical… leg attacks, though Selendis got unlucky and was hit by one. Tenebris breathed a little bit; he couldn't lose his cool, not anymore. Not only was he scaring himself losing his cool, but he was scaring the sisters and he hated doing that.

After Mettaton stopped attacking the sisters posed again, with Selendis' pose being a bit more dramatic because of her injury. However, Tenebris merely laughed and folded his arms with a smirk. "That was nothing! In fact, I'm going to tell you right now that I'm not going to get hit at ALL!"

Mettaton answered with his own smirk, not noticing the ratings gradually getting higher. "Such confidence and integrity! I hope you can back it up, darling!"

The battle went on like that for a while, with the humans posing between Mettaton's attacks and Tenebris occasionally boasting about not being hit at all. He even mixed it up a bit by summoning shadowy clones to make poses with. All three were able to keep damage to a minimum thanks to all of them having access to ranged projectiles to shoot Mettaton's attacks down with.

The essay question Mettaton threw at them caught them off guard for sure. Frisk mentioned his rather good dancing, Selendis commented that his voice was far better than before, and Tenebris merely mentioned that he just looks better like that than as a rectangle. Mettaton responded positively to all of them.

Right after that, Mettaton said, "Your essays showed everyone your hearts, darlings. How about I show you mine?" The heart that was on his abdomen suddenly separated from his body and started shooting lightning bolts. Frisk was set to shoot it with her soul while the older humans covered her with Nos and Feratu.

When Mettaton suddenly challenged them to dance instead of pose, Selendis switched seamlessly. Frisk had to stop and stare at how good of a dancer her sister was before trying to join as well.

What made both her and Mettaton pause completely was when Tenebris joined as well. The two older humans were so focused on outshining Mettaton that they didn't even realize they were dancing with each other in perfect harmony. So much so that the ratings were beginning to skyrocket. Frisk smiled at the scene; if that didn't prove that they were made for each other, she didn't know what else would.

Mettaton, not wanting to be outmatched, quickly joined the three and danced with them. It made for quite the show.

The battle of ratings continued a bit longer until, after another heart shooting segment, Mettaton's arms suddenly came off. This made Frisk and Tenebris pause for a moment. "Holy jumping jellyfish are you alright?"

Mettaton huffed a bit in pain. "Y-yeah I'm fine! Besides, w-who needs arms w-with legs like these?"

Selendis snorted. "He's fine. Pretty good balance considering."

Things continued like that for a bit longer, though all three humans began showing worry when Mettaton was noticeably struggling. He kept playing up the whole movie star thing until he suddenly said, "Enough of this! Do you really want humanity to perish?! Or do you believe in yourselves and each other that much?"

Tenebris was about to speak when Frisk cut him off. "Of course I believe in the both of them. We would never have gotten this far without that belief!" This prompted the older humans to look at each other before nodding.

Mettaton chuckled a bit. "I suppose you make a fair point. Haha, how inspiring! Despite that, I think we all know who's going to win this. Witness the true power of humanity's star!" Mettaton quickly ate his words when, after another "heart shooting segment", he lost his legs, which made all three humans stop entirely. "Then… are you three the real stars? Can you really protect humanity?"

Selendis sighed; she didn't want this to go on much long and even she was starting to feel guilty about Mettaton's condition. "We don't know the answer to that, but I can assure you that we will do our best. But please, isn't this enough?"

Mettaton noticed the desperation and chuckled. "It is wearing on quite lon- " He cut himself off when he looked at his ratings. "OOH, LOOK AT THESE RATINGS!" The humans looked at they saw that the ratings were at eleven thousand. "This is the most viewers I've ever had! Because of this, we've reached the viewer call-in milestone!"

Tenebris shrugged. "Guess the Underground is more populated than I thought."

"Don't forget that we've yet to reach the actual capital." Selendis reminded. "For all we know, this is just a small portion of it."

Mettaton continued speaking. "One lucky viewer will have the chance to talk to mebefore I leave the Underground… forever." This prompted odd looks from the older humans; he was in no position to try and take any soul. They didn't get to comment as they heard a ringing sound coming from Mettaton. "Hi! You're on TV! What do you have to say on this, our last show?"

There was a brief moment of silence before a familiar, sad voice said, "Oh… hi… Mettaton. I really liked watching your show. My life is pretty boring, but… seeing you on the screen brought excitement to my life… vicariously."

The humans looked at each other again, this time with saddened looks. Despite his glory hogging ways, Mettaton was bringing excitement to monster lives. "I can't tell, but… I guess this is the last episode? I'll miss you… Mettaton…" Now Mettaton had a sad look, looking like he was about to cry. The caller suddenly said, "Oh… I didn't mean to talk so long… ohhhhh…"

"NO WAIT, WAIT! BL- H… they already hung up… I'll take another caller!"

What resulted was many monsters calling to tell Mettaton how much they loved him and how much he would be missed. Frisk gave the robot star a desperate smile. "They all love you, Mettaton! Don't leave them like this!"

Mettaton was silent for a bit until he chuckled. "Everyone… thank you so much. Perhaps… you're right, darling. I didn't see it before, but… humans already have idols and stars, but monsters… they only have me. If I left, the Underground would lose its spark and there would be an aching void that cannot be filled." He gives the humans a genuine smile. "I think I'll delay my big debut, even permanently if needs be."

Tenebris approached him and kneeled down to put a hand on his shoulder. "While we didn't get off on the right foot, just know… I respect you, Mettaton. As showy as you are, you always tried to put the audience first, and that's the best thing an idol can do."

"Thanks, Tenebris darling. I apologize for antagonizing you and your companions. Besides, all three of you have proven to be very strong; strong enough to get past Asgore even." Looking at Selendis he adds, "I no longer have any doubts over your ability to protect humanity. Perhaps… this is all for the best anyways."

Selendis approached and shook her head. "Don't give up on your dream yet, though. I promise that if we ever come back, it will be with a way to shatter the barrier without the sacrifice of anymore lives."

Mettaton chuckled again. "A big undertaking, but I can tell it's one you all will pursue none the less. But don't worry about me." The light on his chest, now pink since they were no longer in a fight, started to flicker. "Truth is… this form's energy consumption is… inefficient. In a few moments, I'll run out of battery power… "

Seeing the horrified looks all three humans had made him sigh with a smile. "Despite everything I did to you, you still treat me with kindness. I'll be alright. All three of you, knock them dead! And everyone else? Thank you. You've been a great audience!"


	22. Chapter 22: Judgement to Omega

There was a flash of light that briefly blinded the humans after Mettaton signed out to his audience. When they could see again, they saw him merely sitting there, deactivated. This caused all three to panic, thinking they accidentally killed him.

"I… I managed to open the lock! Are you four…" The humans slowly turned to see Alphys slowly approaching them and gave her a guilty look. She quickly realized why they had that look. "Oh my god. Mettaton! Mettaton, are you…" She gives him a once over before breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank god… it's just the batteries."

Selendis spoke up nervously, "S-so… will he be...?"

Alphys gave her a smile. "He'll be okay. It's happened before and he always turned out fine after a charge." Turning back to the robot, she shuddered. "Mettaton, if you were gone, I would have…"

Tenebris gave her a curious look. "You know him directly, Alphys? Before our "battle" he had… distain for what you were doing. Speaking of, is what he said…"

"Y-yeah. I'm sorry, all of you. I've been feeling so down on myself for so long, I didn't know what to do with my life. In fact, it was Mettaton himself who suggested I insert myself into your "story". Thing is, I was the one who made up all the scenarios and… well he must have grown tired of how badly written and cliché they were, hence his distain."

Frisk gave Alphys as sweet smile. "Yet, despite all of that, you still care deeply for him. The fact that he suggested the situation showed he actually cares about you."

Alphys smiled genuinely for the first time. "I suppose you're right. Could you three… wait for me ahead while I arrange for him to be brought back to my lab?"

The humans nod at her and go on ahead. Once they rounded the corner, Tenebris chuckled. "Glad we didn't resort to anything more drastic. The way Alphys portrayed Mettaton, I doubt he could simply be replicated."

Selendis gave Tenebris an odd look as she gave him back his gun. "What gave you the idea to try and out-shine him anyways?"

"Oh… well I had a fairly restless night, so I went to the MTT Burger Emporium to cool off. There, I met a monster who gave me the low-down of how I could beat Mettaton without actually hurting or killing him. That's also why I gave you guys the Starfaits; drinking one increases ratings on top of healing us."

Frisk beamed. "I'm glad you found that out. We probably would have figured it out eventually, but it might have been too late on our own."

"S… sorry about that!" The trio turned to look at Alphys approach them meekly. "L-let's k-keep going!" After walking a little bit, she suddenly says, "S-so, you're all going to finally meet Asgore, huh? You must be… you must be p-pretty excited about all that, huh?" The humans look at each other, guilt hidden behind their eyes, though Alphys didn't see it. "You'll f-f-finally… you'll finally get to go home."

Tenebris forced down a sigh as he cursed himself and his demons. While venturing outside of the Ruins may have helped Alphys in the long run, all of the pain and suffering everyone, including the sisters, had to go through wouldn't have happened and he felt horrible for it.

When the group reached the elevator and opened it, Alphys suddenly said, "W… wait! I... I mean… um…" She looked very hesitant. "I was just going to… um… say goodbye and…" Her nervous smile slowly melted into a guilty look before crying, "I can't take this anymore!" Looking away, she continued, "I… need to tell you the truth. A human soul isn't strong enough to cross the barrier alone. It takes at least a human soul… and a monster soul."

The words crashed down on the humans like an anchor. Selendis mentally knew that something would throw everything off, but she never thought it was that bad. Frisk was beginning to freak out over it, but Tenebris was slowly feeling himself grow cold. _No… not… not… again…_

Alphys turned back to them with a depressed look. "If you want to go home… you'll have to take his soul… You'll have to kill Asgore." With that, she walks away with an air of renewed, severe depression. "I'm… so… sorry…"

After she was gone, Frisk shook her head violently. "No… NO! I refuse to accept that!"

Selendis sighed. "Frisk, you know as well as I do that it might be the only way. I don't want it to happen either, but…" She looks over at Tenebris and sees the most horrified look to ever be on his face. "Tenebris?"

"I… I don't want…" In desperation, his mind started scrounging for something, anything, to try and avoid not killing Asgore. He went with one idea. "W-w-well… m-monster souls are m-made of magic, r-right? M-maybe I can s-still pass through b-because of my m-magic saturated soul! Yeah, that has to work! Then when I come back, I'll convince Toriel to come out to live with us in the rest of the underground!"

Frisk gave Tenebris a somewhat frightened look at how he was suddenly talking. "I… I hope that works…" Selendis merely sighed; she knew it was never going to be that easy, but she didn't want to say anything.

With that justification in mind, the humans went into the elevator. When they came back out, they found themselves in a grey area, overlooking what looked like a city. Selendis made the connection. "This must be the capital."

Frisk sighed. "I suppose the place Asgore resides in would be the most populated area."

When they continued, they found what looked like a greyer version of Toriel's home. As they went through it and got the keys to continue on, the monsters inside told them a story. A story about Asriel and a human child; presumably the very first one to fall. They learned of the tragedy that befell them and why Asgore started gathering human souls. This lead the trio to once again question if it's truly their right to keep living when the monsters have suffered so much. During this, Frisk found a worn dagger and a heart-shaped locket.

Eventually, they reached a corridor that was full of orange light that was filtering through stained glass. Selendis admired it; she was always loved evening colors, though she always felt the loneliness that always pervades the hour of twilight. The same went with Tenebris, though the feeling of loneliness was starting to crush him given the current situation.

Half-way through, a shadowed figured appeared in front of them. From the shape, the three knew it was Sans, especially when he started speaking. "So you finally made it. The end of your journey is at hand. In a few moments, you will meet the king. Together… you will decide the fate of this world." He sighed. "That's then. Now, you will be judged. Judged for your every action, for every EXP you've earned."

This got an odd look from Tenebris, which Sans picked up on. "What do I mean by EXP, you may ask? It's an acronym. It stands for… "execution points." A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. As you may know, killing someone makes your EXP increase. With enough EXP, your LOVE increases. LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for "Level Of ViolencE," a way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt."

Selendis and Frisk thought back to when Flowey taught them about LOVE. He lied verbally about how to get LOVE, but had indirectly shown them how to gain it.

Sans continued. "The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself, and by that, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others." Here, he hesitated. Both Selendis and Frisk were at LV 1, which is default for all living beings.

Tenebris had a LV of 5. Sans assumed it was from before he fell into the Underground, otherwise Undyne would have lamented training a murderer; she always had a nose for those who killed monsters.

Based on that, he let out a sigh. "but none of you gained any LOVE. 'course, that doesn't mean you're completely innocent or naïve. just that all of you kept a certain tenderness in your hearts, even in the face of being antagonized. no matter what happened to you or your companions, you all strived to do the right thing, refusing to hurt anyone. None of you gained LOVE, but you gained "love"."

Selendis couldn't help letting out a snort of laughter. "That's so cheesy… maybe that's what makes it genuine."

Sans chuckled. "always happens. but now, the three of you are about to face the greatest challenge of your entire journey. like i said, your actions here will determine the fate of the entire world. refusal to fight could result in asgore taking one of your souls and destroying humanity. but if one of you kills asgore and goes home, monsters will remain trapped underground."

Frisk shuddered a bit. "W-would you get mad at us if we t-told you that we wanted to live underground from the very beginning?"

Sans gave the humans a curious look. "then why are you- wait i know. tenebris wanted to get a memento from the surface?" He chuckled at Frisk's surprised look. "i already knew, and i already said i can't really fault you for that. at the end of the day, so long as you all do what's in your hearts, i believe you can do the right thing. good luck!" With that, Sans disappears with the question of where and how Tenebris gained his LOVE in his mind.

Tenebris had noticed Sans' hesitation right before stating that they never gain any LOVE and the feeling of dread deepened in his soul, wondering if Sans somehow… knew. He snapped out of it when the sisters suddenly continued and quickly followed. Selendis took note of how jumpy he's suddenly become and worried if he was relapsing back into something.

Right before they entered the throne room, all of them had different thoughts on what the supposed king of monsters would have for throne room aesthetics. None of them expected what was essentially a large garden of yellow flowers.

And watering it was a large, caped figure with white horns, who was humming before noticing their rather nervous approach. "Oh? Is someone there? Just a moment, I need to finish watering these flowers!" The humans remained silent, all of them dreading what could be an inevitable confrontation.

"Here we are!" Turning to face his visitors, Asgore said, "Howdy, how can I…" He trailed off and took a step back when he saw who was there, a look of horror on his face. "Oh… well, I so badly want to offer all of you a cup of tea… but… I guess you know how it is…" He sounded rather despondent.

Tenebris stepped forward and bowed nervously, heart pounding out of his chest. "H-hello, your m-majesty. C-could you… um… s-show me the way to the b-barrier?"

Asgore was taken aback by the sudden show of courtesy, especially from someone with a shadowy eye, before letting out a sigh. "You… intend on passing through the barrier. You do know what that entitles, correct?"

"I-I think I have a-an alternative, y-your majes- "

"Just call me Asgore, young ones. And… I think I know your alternative." He hesitated before saying, "I'll wait for you in the next room."

The humans were surprised by the king's reluctance to even attack them as he left the throne room. Still, when they followed him, he noticed how tense all of them were. "How tense… just think of this like… a visit to the dentist or something of that caliber."

Selendis shook her head. "I… don't think that's the correct analogy, but I get what you're trying to say."

Asgore chuckles lightly, which sounded so familiar to Tenebris for some reason. "As long as you know what I'm getting at." He didn't walk far before stopping before an entrance. "Are any of you ready? If you aren't, I understand; I'm not ready either." He enters the next room.

Frisk let out a whimper. "The way he's dragging this out… I've got a sinking feeling about this."

Selendis sighed. "Expect the worst and hope for the best. That's all we can do now."

"I… don't like it…" Tenebris almost whispered, which gained him worried looks. He simply shook his head. "We're too close… to g-give up now. If you two want to head back to Snowdin, I won't stop you."

Frisk shook her head. "W-we've come this far together. W-we will see it through to the end." Selendis merely nodded.

Tenebris sighed. Deep in his heart, he knew that he would be forced to engage Asgore. In a way, he wanted to keep the sisters out of it, but at the same time he didn't know how long he would last without their support. Finally, he nods at them before entering after Asgore.

What they were met with was a wall that simultaneously looked like a long, black corridor that occasionally pulsed grey. Asgore was standing in front of it with a grim air around him. "This is the barrier. This is what keeps us trapped underground. If… by any chance you still have unfinished business, please do what you must before I hear your… alternative."

Tenebris steeled himself before saying. "I… don't think we have any. But… I have a soul infused with high concentrations of magic. C-could that- "

"Somehow… I knew that was your alternative. The answer is… no. It will not suffice." Tenebris took a step backwards in horror; had Asgore seen it once before? Asgore let out another sigh. "I know you have a reason for crossing the barrier. With that… there's only one alternative…" He slowly turned to the humans. "Ready?"

Suddenly, seven capsule-like objects emerged from the ground, all but one containing a different colored soul. With that, the area grows dark and everyone's souls emerged, with a now monotone Asgore looking like he was making his peace.

Though all three didn't want this, there was a strange light filling the room. Twilight was shining through the barrier. Even with the inevitable battle, the humans felt their journey was finally over. All of this somehow filled them with… DETERMINATION.

Asgore suddenly spoke up. "Humans… it was nice meeting all of you… Goodbye…" A row of what looked like buttons suddenly appeared between the humans and Asgore, starling them. Frisk had been seeing them all this time, but what horrified her was what Asgore did.

He brought out his trident… and shattered the button labeled… MERCY.

Frisk let out an agonized cry as all three humans jumped back. Tenebris summoned his shadow scythe and got ready to defend against what Asgore had in store for them. The king saw Tenebris' soul and actually hesitated. "Can it be… you're… part elemental? I'm surprised you aren't…"

Tenebris gave him a confused look. "W-what are you talking about?"

"No… it's nothing. Nothing relevant to this…" He looks back down at the ground, almost like he couldn't look any of the humans in the eye.

Many times all three tried to convince him none of them didn't want to fight. It was when Frisk practically begged him to stop when he noticeably put less force behind his attacks. Despite that, he never truly relented and the humans knew… they had to fight. There was no other way to get him to stop.

Selendis used the frying pan she got in the Hotlands and Frisk brought out the worn dagger she just found. True to his appearance and title, he could take punishment in spades and deal out just as much. Tenebris had to use everything in his arsenal _just_ to help keep the sisters alive.

Whenever Asgore sent individual fireballs at them, he brought out Nos and Furatu to shoot them down or used his shadow bolts. Asgore and Tenebris occasionally "locked blades" with each other whenever one tried to go in with a melee attack. Asgore kept getting caught off guard by the umbra blasters and the occasional iced floor, but he was able to weather both Tenebris' attacks and the sister's, who swung at him whenever his guard was down.

What threw Tenebris off was his realization of why Asgore shattered the "MERCY button." It wasn't because he didn't intent to show the humans any mercy. It was because Asgore felt that he didn't deserve any mercy.

Despite it being three against one, the battle took a while until Tenebris managed to get one more scythe hit on Asgore, bringing the king to his knees. Rather than a look of anger, he had pained acceptance on his face. "Ah… so that is how it is…" All three humans froze when Asgore started kneeling, Frisk almost on the verge of tears.

Asgore let out a pained sigh. "I remember the day when my son died. The entire underground was devoid of hope; our future once again being taken from us by the humans. In a fit of anger, I declared war, stating that I would destroy any humans how would come here. I would use their souls to become god-like… and free us from this terrible prison. After that, I would destroy humanity and let monsters rule the surface in peace."

Selendis merely bowed her head with her eyes closed. While it was true that the monsters have suffered because of humans, her new thought was… was it really right for the monsters to take revenge on the decedents of those who stole their hope away?

Asgore continued, "Soon, hope began to return to the underground, but my wife became disgusted with my actions and left this place, never to be seen again…" Tenebris gasped a bit. That was the reason why Toriel labeled him as a cruel leader. "Truthfully… I don't want power… I don't want to hurt anyone… I just wanted everyone to have hope. But… I cannot take this any longer. I just… want to see my wife… my child…"

Looking at Tenebris with a desperate look, he added, "Please, young human-elemental. This war has gone on long enough. You have the power… take my soul and leave this cursed place. Find a way to save your companions…"

Realizing that Asgore was essentially asking him to kill him, Tenebris' hands began to shudder as he gripped his scythe. He didn't want this. Nobody but the most soulless creatures ever deserved to die. The sisters gave him worried looks until he said, "When… since when was it my right… to decide who lives… and who dies? I… I don't want this… I… never wanted this…" He dropped the scythe with a resounding clang before it dissipated. "You can't… expect me to…" He slowly started crying.

Asgore slowly adopted a surprised look as Selendis and Frisk comforted Tenebris. "After everything I've done… to hurt you… to hurt all of you… you'd rather stay down here and suffer, than live happily on the surface?"

Frisk gave him a tearful look. "I-I'd r-rather that! Nobody… ever deserves to die!"

Selendis nodded with a soft smile. "No matter what you did, you always did it for your people. That's all anyone can ask of a leader. While what you did is inexcusable, you can make up for it in time."

Asgore couldn't believe his ears. These humans must have suffered so much throughout their journey and even during their battle, yet they show that they wanted to help him. Overcome with happiness, he gives them a smile. "To think… you three would show that much belief that I can still… no. Humans, for as long as you remain here, my wife and I will take care of you as best as we can. While she may still hate me, I believe… we could be like… a family."

Tenebris looked up at Asgore before letting out small, sad laugh. "You… remind me so much of my late father. It's almost scary…" Asgore gave a surprised look as the trio of humans approached him. "Truth be told, Asgore, all of us intended to stay in the underground. I made this journey to try and obtain a memento of my parents to assure my demons that I didn't simply forget them. But if that means taking a life, I refuse to go through with it."

Frisk beamed happily. "And I know we can convince Toriel to forgive you. She just has to!"

Selendis giggled. "A little ahead of ourselves there, Frisk, but I agree with you. Besides, all three of us have lost our parents. The fact that both you and your wife offered to take care of us… we are happy." She stretches a hand out to Asgore, with Tenebris and Frisk doing the same thing.

Asgore gave a very bright smile as he reached out to them… only to be shocked as a ring of pellets surrounded him. "W-what's happ- "

Tenebris looked horrified as he recognized the pellets as they hit Asgore, killing him. "NO!"

Frisk let out an agonized cry. "What's going on?! Why is this happening?!"

Selendis growled. " _ **Flowey…**_ "

The flower appeared before them with his trademark shit-eating grin. "You IDIOTS! Haven't any of you learned ANYTHING? In this world…" The human souls started circling around the flower as his face started contorting demonically. " _ **It's kill or be killed!**_ " He started laughing as he absorbed the souls, until the humans were blinded by a flash of light.

They suddenly started coming to, like they had just been knocked out. When they regained their bearings, they noticed that they were in an endless void. Tenebris let out a sigh. "What did that stupid flower do now?"

Selendis stood up, looking less than amused. "So first he kills Asgore right when he did, steals the six human souls, and finally dumps us in an endless abyss. Remind me to pack a weed shear next time I venture underground." Looking down, she adds, "It's so disorienting to be able to see, yet not be able to see the floor we're standing on."

Frisk looked around. She was getting a major sense of déjà vu and she was not liking it. "S-should we try walking somewhere?"

Tenebris got up as well. "Sitting around won't accomplish anything. Let's see if we can't find that weed and make him restore things to normal." There was a slight amount of aggression behind his voice. Frisk shuddered at it, but didn't say anything.

After walking for a bit, Selendis stopped with a confused look. "What's with the glowing yellow star?"

Frisk was now panicking. Whatever Flowey did, it allowed the older humans to see the SAVE stars she's been using throughout the Underground. She was still afraid of what they would think of her abilities, so she decided to play dumb. "Maybe… touching it will make something happen?"

Tenebris scanned the immediate vicinity to see if there was anything else. "Guess it's our only clue."

The moment Frisk touched it, a box appeared in front of them. This not only confused the older humans, but also Frisk; she has never seen anything like it before. The box read:

Chara LV1 % ( : !(

The End

Of course their confusion was cut short when something started destroying the box and making it say "File erased" before shattering, revealing Flowey's face behind it. Tenebris growled as his eye flared up. " _ **You…**_ "

"Howdy!" The sisters flinched and even Tenebris balked a little upon hearing how demonic and… axe-crazy Flowey suddenly sounded, which made the flower smile even wider. "It's me, Flowey. Flowey the flower! I owe you three huge thanks. You really did a number on that old fool. Without you, I NEVER could have gotten past him. But now, thanks to you, _he's dead. And I've got the human souls!"_ He punctuated the last sentence with a demonic laugh. The entire time, his face had been flickering like a malfunctioning TV set.

Frisk started clutching Selendis. "Wh-what has h-he…"

Flowey's face appeared again. "Boy! I've been empty for so long that it feels good to have a soul inside me again." He sticks his tongue out. "Mmm, I can feel them wriggling…." Noticing the looks on the human's faces, he chuckles slightly. "Aww, you're all feeling left out, aren't you? Well, that's just perfect. After all, I only have six souls. I only need one more… _before I become god, though two more can't hurt. Then, with my newfound powers... monsters, humans… everyone. I'll show them all the REAL meaning of this world!"_

He vanishes again with another laugh as Tenebris began to tremble. "Th… this is… beginning to look like… a nightmare…"

Selendis had begun sweating coldly as she breathed. "This feels… far too real to… be a simple nightmare."

Flowey suddenly reappeared again. "Oh, and to the one whom this applies to, forget about escaping to your old SAVE FILE. _It's gone FOREVER._ But don't worry. Your old friend Flowey has worked out a replacement for you! In fact, _I'll SAVE over your own deaths so you can watch me tear you all into bloody pieces. Over, and over, and over…"_

At this point, Tenebris had enough and reignited his eye. "Big words, petals. But mark my words, I'll make you pay for what you've done to Asgore!"

Selendis stood forward as well with a determined look. "If you think we're just going to sit there and let you do whatever, you're horribly mistaken."

Frisk regained her determination. "We won't let you have your way!"

This legitimately surprised Flowey. Before they merely took a step towards him. " _What? Do you three really think you can stop me?"_ He chuckles again, which brought the humans down a peg in determination. "You really ARE a bunch of IDIOTS…"

He disappears and everyone's souls emerged. Suddenly the six other souls appeared one by one in a circle before spreading and vanishing again. The entire abyss suddenly started flashing red as a dark figure slowly approached them. When it stopped in front of them, a face suddenly lit up on it with Flowey's smirk. It evolved into a grin before showing lunatic eyes as well.

The final nail in everyone's fright was when the blackened figure revealed itself: an eldritch mix of plant, animal, and machine that looks like it jumped right out of a horror game. It was the scariest thing anyone has ever seen and Flowey's laugh made things even worse.

Selendis stood rooted to the spot in fear, her earlier words dying in her throat. Tenebris shot a look at her and saw a great number of red lasers pointed at her. He instantly realized what it meant, teleported, and shoved her out of the way with a loud "Look out!"

The sisters barely managed to register what he did… before he was impaled by an untold amount of thorny vines and violently ripped apart with only his darkness-pulsing soul remaining. Selendis let out an anguished scream and Frisk blanked out, refusing to believe what had just happened.

Flowey was somewhat amused. "That fool sacrificed himself so that you may live… what a pointless gesture."

Selendis collapsed onto the floor before his now exposed soul, his physical remains somehow gone. "T… Tenebris… why…? We… we were… so close… please… please come back… come back… to me… to us…"

Flowey let out another diabolical laugh. "Sorry, "sweetheart", but that's not going to happen. Don't feel too bad; after I absorb his soul, you'll be joining him shortly." He started reaching for his soul, prompting Frisk to try and grab it first with an anguished cry.

Only for it to suddenly zip out of Flowey's reach and into Frisk's, surprising everyone. **"Sorry, petals, but you aren't absorbing me, not even over my dead body! Besides, I still have to put my "heart and soul" into stopping you!"**

Selendis stared at the now active shadowy soul with surprise before she started laughing softly. "You're… you're still… here with us!"

" **Sorry about that, Selendis. But know this: I may be down without a body, but I'm not out until we can give him what for!"**

Frisk let out a cheer, determination renewed once again. "As long as you're still with us, Tenny, we can do this!"

Flowey initially didn't know what to make of it before he chuckled. "So that's why that old fool called you part elemental. Of course it isn't that easy for me. Regardless, I'm going to enjoy this! Prepare to die again and again!"

The words "File 3 saved" flashed in the corner of everyone's vision before Flowey started launching attacks. Tenebris managed to call out to them right before his soul teleported, **"I'll support you as best as I can! I'll telegraph his attacks for you and if that MERCY button appears, hit it and I will be able to heal or defend you girls. His power won't let me otherwise! Also, I can tell we can't damage him, so don't bother fighting. Just try and survive!"**

True to his word, he was able to telegraph some of Flowey's attacks, though it was limited to the circle of pellets, the vines, and the finger launching attacks. Flowey also had energy bolts coming from his eyes, either in a fan-shape targeting someone or completely wide-spread; flamethrowers; moss-like balls with mouths on them; bombs; a laser that fires out of the "mouth"; and an attack that draws flies to an arm that morphs into a venous fly trap.

Despite Tenebris healing them up every time the MERCY button appeared and was pressed, it was still a nightmare for them to dodge everything Flowey threw at them. Frisk quickly tripped up so badly, she was killed by the energy bolts fired from Flowey's eyes. Selendis' mind had shut down completely at that, opening her to death by vines. A distraught Tenebris reappeared in front of Flowey and promptly got his soul shattered.

All three had no sense of feeling or awareness, but as they suddenly began to regain it, they heard Flowey's laugh. "Did you really think I was going to be satisfied… killing you three only ONE time?"

They all suddenly found themselves in front of Flowey again, Tenebris still as a soul, but the memory of their recent death was still fresh in their minds. They couldn't mull over it as Flowey launched his offensive again, though this time both the sisters were able to withstand all of his attacks for much longer.

Eventually, an alarm blared and the screen flashed "WARNING" with a picture of the cyan soul. Suddenly, Flowey disappeared and Selendis found herself facing a field of rotating knives. Tenebris and Frisk could only watch helplessly she occasionally got nicked trying to survive.

Eventually she saw a button labeled ACT and pressed it while simultaneously calling for help. There was a delay before all of the white knives turned into green bandages that healed her. After that, both her and Frisk found themselves back in front of Flowey and avoiding attacks while hitting the MERCY button occasionally.

Eventually, they saw the orange soul on the screen, but this time Frisk had to deal with circles of gloves rotating around as the older humans were forced to watch. Frisk eventually hit the ACT button like Selendis and called for help, leading to green gloves giving a thumbs up.

Next time it happened, Tenebris had to deal with the Blue soul's ballet shoes and being stuck close to the ground by stars. Hitting the ACT button turned the stars into green music notes. After that, Flowey suddenly began using save file 2 to throw the sisters off by saving at one point in time, then loading it to make them run into the previous attack. They persevered regardless of any damage quandaries.

With the purple soul, Frisk had to dodge negative words before the Act button turned them into green positive words. All three began to realize what was going on: by calling for help, the other human souls were beginning to rebel against Flowey and supporting them instead of hurting them.

Next was Selendis dealing with the green soul's rain of fire before having a rain of green eggs heal her. She was tempted to reference "Green Eggs and Ham", but refrained from doing so.

Finally, Tenebris dealt with the yellow soul's gun shooting him before it started shooting green four-leaf clovers.

Suddenly all three of the humans found themselves surrounded by the six other souls and getting healed by them. Tenebris wasn't getting healed, but he was getting an energy boost for what he must do, especially when he realized something after Flowey reappeared. **"Flowey's defense has been removed! I'll make the FIGHT button appear with the MERCY button. Use it and I'll attack him!"**

Selendis grinned as Frisk let out a triumphant cry. "It's time to start pushing back!"

Flowey was confused as to why the humans, more specifically Tenebris, suddenly started attacking him and why it was actually hurting. Tenebris used everything offensive in his arsenal, though he seemed to prefer the umbra blasters and the scythe attacks. Selendis noticed that his soul was beginning to falter after Flowey began uttering deep shouts of pain and her heart began to sink.

After one last hit, Flowey entered his death throes while screaming, " _No… NO! This can't be happening! You… YOU…!"_ Suddenly file 3 was loaded and everything was as if nothing had happened. This made all three distraught and Flowey's troll face wasn't helping. "You IDIOTS."

He suddenly killed all three at the same time with his laser, then loaded file 3 again to kill them with vines. He alternated at an increasingly rapid pace before leaving them barely alive and surrounding them with pellets. Despite not having a body, Tenebris let out a harsh cough. **"I… thought we were… going somewhere…"**

Flowey laughed at that. _"Did you really think that you could defeat ME?! I am the god of this world and you? YOU'RE ALL HOPELESS! Hopeless and alone… golly, that's right! Your worthless friends can't save you now."_ He chuckles before saying, _"Call for help, I dare you. Cry into the darkness that Tenebris can't control! Mommy! Daddy! Somebo- "_

"Our parents are dead…" Selendis stated with a wounded voice.

" _Oh? That just accentuates my point. Call for them anyways; see what good it does you!"_

The ACT button appeared again and Frisk hit it while crying out for somebody to help.

…

But nobody came.

Flowey smirked. _"Boy, that's a shame! Nobody else… IS GONNA GET TO SEE YOU ALL DIE!"_ He lets out another diabolical laugh as the pellets slowly close in on the trio… only to be cut off when said pellets actually healed the sisters and did nothing to Tenebris. _"What? How'd you…? Well, guess I'll just…"_

Load failed

Now Flowey was panicking. _"Wh… where are my power?!"_ The six other souls appeared in front of him, making him freak out even more. _"The other souls…? What are they doing?"_ He was suddenly enveloped in psychedelic rainbows and started screaming in agony as the souls started circling him. The trio felt a pang of sympathy for him; at least he gave Asgore the dignity a quick death. With this, there wasn't even a guarantee he was going to die.

Sure enough, after the light faded, they saw Flowey back in his original flower form, looking far worse for wear than ever before. Tenebris was tempted to put him out of his misery, but did nothing as Frisk hit the MERCY button that appeared.

This prompted a slow response from Flowey. "What are you three doing? Do any of you really think I've learned anything from this? No… sparing me won't change anything. Killing me is the only way to end this."

Selendis shook her head. "Despite what you have done, Flowey, killing you wouldn't solve anything either."

Flowey noted that her statement sounded more like an afterthought, telling him they actually wanted to show him mercy. He decided to be more threatening. _"If you let me live… I'll come back…"_

MERCY

" _I'll kill you… I'll kill everyone… I'll kill everyone you three love."_ Despite the demonic face, the trio could tell he was grasping at straws. They gave him looks sympathy when they realized something he said before the battle: he never had a soul to feel compassion with.

Flowey's face slowly went from demonic to confused as they kept hitting MERCY. "Why? Why are all three of you being… so nice to me?" He started to legitimately sound broken. "I can't understand… I can't understand!"

The final pressing of the MERCY button led him very close to breaking down into tears. "I… just… can't… under… stand…" With that, he ran away underground.

Frisk looked at the spot he was in with an extreme look of sadness. "I feel… so sorry for him despite what he's done…"

Selendis nodded slowly. "He can't feel love or compassion. All he can understand is pain and sadness. He lives a half-life… a cursed life."

Tenebris chuckled weakly. **"I suppose… that's it for him… then? Silver lining is… that put us on… the other side of the barrier."**

Frisk noticed Tenebris' soul beginning to shudder and gave him a desperate look. "No, please! You survived the destruction of your body and that battle. Don't leave us like this!" Selendis caught on and gave him a distraught look.

" **Sorry… both of you. It seems… that battle… took everything I had out of me. I… suppose I was lucky enough to… be able to exist… without a body."**

Selendis shook her head violently. "No! I don't want you to leave us! We've been through so much together; it can't end now!" Slowly breaking down she adds, "Come… back with us… back to Toriel… Sans… Papyrus… Everyone is waiting for us!"

" **You know just as well as I do… that won't happen."** Tenebris' soul started fluctuating and shuddering even more violently. **"I'm… sorry it has to… be this way… you'll have to… go on without me…"**

"No… NO!"

" **So long as… you two live on… I'm happy. My only regret… I never… got… to… say…"** He was never able to finish the sentence before his soul split in half and scattered.

Selendis let out a scream of anguish as Tenebris' soul faded from existence. Frisk broke down crying and calling out for Tenebris to come back to them. Her calls went unanswered.

The sisters stayed in that spot for a good while, weeping over their now lost friend… someone who they considered family. By the time they left for the surface, both were emotionally dead.

The surface or returning to the underground no longer held any meaning or joy. Even when Sans called them and told them how the underground was faring better ever since the queen returned, their sorrow was still dominant. It was worse than when their parents died; they weren't stellar people. Frisk didn't take long to bounce back from their deaths. She was never able to recover from Tenebris' death and continued to be emotionally dead, while Selendis was an emotional wreck.

The last thing Selendis remembered seeing of Frisk was a red glint in her eyes.


	23. Chapter 23 - Empty

Tenebris woke up with a start before promptly falling off his couch. "Ow… what?"

When he manages to sit up straight on the floor, he looks at the time. It was an hour past noon, which somewhat disturbed him; he normally never naps because of how both his magic and his nightmares have haunted him ever since returning home.

Feeling his left eye burning, he worked to calm it down before wondering what it was he was dreaming. "I hate how dreams are handled. Nightmares you remember vividly, yet normal or half-way decent dreams are almost instantly… wait, how do I know how to regulate my magic?!"

He sat there for a while trying to figure it out to the point where he started giving himself a headache. At one point he heard ringing, but assumed it was just his ears ringing. "Ugh… whatever, I'll just accept it. Certainly saves me from enduring the burning for any longer than I have to."

Getting up and heading into the kitchen, he notices his "breakfast pizza" on the counter, only half eaten. He frowned; for some odd reason he was really out of it today. Not only did he actually sleep, but he couldn't remember much of what had already went on today… though he eventually assumed that it was because nothing of note has happened.

He did remember what happened the day before. Frisk and Selendis had come over on the last day of the weekend before Frisk went back to school. Frisk did make a passing mention of being harassed by bullies, but she kept insisting that it wasn't too much to get worked up over.

Tenebris suddenly found it odd that she would make a passing mention of it if the situation truly wasn't that bad. "Or maybe that nap really screwed with my mind. Seriously, first I somehow know how to regulate my magic, then I start questioning Frisk's motives for making a passing mention of bullies. I need a new hobby… that does not involve me staying in my PJ's, seriously.

"Wait a minute. Frisk… bullies. Bullies… dare…? Dare… oh no…" He suddenly started clicking as he came to a slow realization of what his mind was trying to tell him. Said bullies Frisk told him about dared her to climb Mt. Ebott, a mountain with legends that say anyone who ventures up it will never be seen or heard from again.

Now thrown into a full-blown panic, not even questioning how he made those connections, he dashed upstairs into his room to find his cell phone to call Selendis. Upon unlocking it, he realized that Selendis already left him a voicemail.

"T-Tenebris? I-I don't know why you don't have your phone on you, but this is important! I… don't know how, but something is screaming at me that Frisk is in danger a-and that we need to save her. If you get this, please help me find her on Mt. Ebott! I'll go on ahead and start looking for her now." The voicemail cuts off there.

Tenebris calls her number as he hastily tries to get dressed. "C'mon, Selendis, please pick up or at least haven't left yet!"

Nobody answered.

Cursing himself, he managed to get dressed in a purple shirt and blue jeans before rushing out the door, though not before slamming himself into the frame thanks to his bad depth-perception due to only having one eye able to see. Recovering, he halts by the front door and looks at the coat closet for a second before grabbing his father's jet black duster coat and rushing out, quickly locking the house before making a mad dash for Mt. Ebott. The streets were eerily silent and empty.

As soon as he got to the base, he ripped the eyepatch off his face so that he could use both of his eyes and started calling out for Selendis and Frisk, hoping they were still alive and well on the surface of the mountain. After a few minutes of searching around the mountain and calling for the sisters, he found a pitfall amidst some trees and vines.

Tenebris took one look at the vines and shuddered. "Why do those seem so familiar? For that matter, why does it feel like I've been here before?" He took a look down the pit and jumped back, now quivering in his boots. "A-and why does it have to be so d-deep? I hate heights!"

He fought with his fears for a bit, wondering if he merely missed the sisters on the surface. Ultimately, he decided to chance heading underground and expanding his search.

Now all he had to do was make himself jump down the pit. Every time he got a running start, he always stopped himself right before jumping. "I-I-I can't d-do this! I j-just c-can't… n-no, I have to b-be strong. For Selendis and Frisk!"

This time, he jumped into the pit without running first; it gave him too much time to think. Problem was, he was already regretting it as his life started flashing before his eyes before hitting the ground and blacking out.

Flowey heard the thud as he was contemplating whether or not the kid taking his advice so suddenly was a good thing. The reset happened before he could appear in her dreams to drop a hint, which not only reversed everything the trio of humans did, but also his… feelings on the matter. What helped make up his mind was when he was reminded of his best friend, Chara, after killing Toriel.

Upon checking the source of the noise, he found Tenebris unconscious like Selendis was before him. Flowey let out a small chuckle. "So now the question is… how will he react when he finds out that the kid, who he sees as a little sister, has gone for the path of genocide. This will be veeeeery interesting." Hearing the human groan, he disappears underground; he decided to let Chara deal with him.

Tenebris slowly came to with a groan of pain; his body hurt everywhere. "I swear… if neither of them are down here, I'll have almost killed myself for nothing." Getting up and off of the bed of flowers he landed on, he scanned the cave he was in. The color and the ruins-like look just screamed déjà vu to him, with the only thing missing, oddly, was Selendis.

Entering the next room, he once again felt something was missing before passing it off. "Selendis! Frisk! Where are you?" He called throughout the ruins. "Somebody… anybody…?"

But nobody came. The ruins were empty and desolate.

During his trek through, one of the things he noticed was that most of the supposed "traps" had already been deactivated or solved, which made him believe that maybe he was right in guessing that the sisters were down here. The other thing was the seemingly random piles of dust strewn about the ruins; the place looked maintained outside of those piles, which filled him with dread.

"H-hey, Selendis? F-Frisk? J-jokes over, you can come out now… please?" There was hollow desperation in his voice now, as Tenebris continued to walk through the ruins and see more piles of dust. Eventually, he came across what looked like somebody's house.

It was just as empty as the ruins before it, only with a melancholier feel to it. Tenebris felt incredibly saddened seeing the place; whoever lives… or lived here had a very caring and compassionate heart. To see it abandoned like this felt wrong.

He gave the house a quick once-over before heading down the stairs. "Okay, seriously you two, the joke is over. I swear, if you two made me worry for nothing, I'm going to kill you girls!" He tried to sound irritated, but came out more despondent than anything else.

If there was any fear other than heights that he had, it was being all alone. That's why he always tried to be a good friend to the sisters; if they decided to leave him, he couldn't handle the loneliness. "D-did they perhaps… learn about my magic? O-or even… my p-past? Th-there's no way… they would like me if they knew…"

Reaching the end of the hallway, he saw something that disturbed him even more: There was another pile of dust, but some purple clothes were covered in it. Unlike the other piles of dust… this one was somehow still relatively fresh. "What… what is even… going on?"

Sidestepping it as to not disturb the pile, he continued forward until he found himself in a cold, snowy area. He let out a small shudder as he kept going. "F-Frisk! Selendis! Answer me… or at least give me a sign! Please…"

While crushing through the snow, he saw what looked like a sentry station. Checking behind it, he saw a lot of condiment bottles just lying there. The sight made him feel slightly nostalgic for some reason. The same applied to the other sights he sees as he's calling out for the sisters.

What made his soul go cold was when he realized that there were piles of dust in the snow as well, being grey against the snow's white. Tenebris knew they had to of been something, and what was making him even more afraid was just how fresh the piles seemed to be; they hadn't been there for very long and they looked like they had some semblance of warmth.

He slowly started going from a cautious walk to running. Whatever is down here making these dust piles isn't friendly. He needed to find the sister now more than ever. "Frisk! Selendis! Come on, we can't be here!" Eventually, he found a town in the distance and rushed there, hoping someone had at least seen the sisters.

Just like the ruins, home, and forest before it, the town was empty. This time, there were no piles of dust strewn about, but that only made his dread worse. "Selendis! Frisk! Somebody! Anybody!"

He kept running forward… until he spotted someone up ahead, laying on the ground. When he got closer, he saw it was Selendis. "Selendis! Are you- " He skidded to a halt and covered his mouth when he saw her up close. Her abdomen had been violently slashed open and her blood was everywhere. "No… please… no…" He kneels down and picks her head off the ground.

That action made her open her eyes weakly. "Ten… i… bris… please… save…"

"Nononono, conserve your energy! Please, don't die on me!"

She gave me a sad look. "I'm… sorry…" She closed her eyes… and fell limp.

Tenebris gave her a wide eyed look, tears now streaming down his face. "No… no! Wake up! PLEASE, WAKE UP! SELENDIS!" Her limp form gave no answer no matter how much he begged. Tenebris began sobbing… before letting out a scream of anguish.

/

So begins the genocide portion of my story.

Just as a quick note, thank you guys for 50 follows, 41 likes, and over 10,000 views on this story. I hope the rest of the story will continue to entertain you guys!


	24. Chapter 24: Betrayal

**"I found the Knives!"**

* * *

Tenebris sat there, crying while he clutched Selendis' head to his chest as her blood stained his clothes and the surrounding snow. He knew she was gone, but he still pined for her to come back. Back to him… to Frisk.

"Pa… Papyrus…" Tenebris looked up to see a crying skeleton wearing a blue hoodie lifting a red scarf from a nearby pile of dust. Sans looked and saw Tenebris clutching the now deceased Selendis. "You too… lost someone…"

Tenebris sobbed a bit more. "Please… save… her…"

Sans let out a shuddering sigh. "You already know… the truth, bud. She won't come back… and neither will… Papyrus… I'm so sorry…"

Through his sadness, Tenebris managed to connect the dots. "Y-you mean… that pile of dust… is…?"

"It… used to be my brother…"

"T-then… all those dust piles I've been seeing…"

Sans nodded slowly. "Other monsters who have been killed… a human has been murdering everything in sight ever since they came out of the ruins…"

"And they… also killed…" Tenebris stopped himself when he saw a green heart emerge from Selendis' body. "What… is that…"

"Her soul…" Sans confirmed. He didn't know that she was there before this, but he still remembers her.

Tenebris reached for the soul, managed to grasp it, and brought it to his chest. "I'm so sorry… Selendis… I… couldn't save you."

Sans observed for a bit before seeing a green flash come from Tenebris. When it was gone, Selendis' soul was gone as well, which confused him greatly. "Wait… human souls don't just… up and disappear like that." Tenebris started looking around frantically for her soul before letting out another sob, thinking she already moved on. Sans immediately thought of something. "Let me see your soul!"

This confused the human greatly. "W-why?"

"I have a hunch." Sans entered a fight and the area grew dark. Tenebris' dark purple soul emerged… along with a green soul that was orbiting it. "I… have never seen anything like it before…"

"Wait… I absorbed her soul?" Tenebris focused a bit, no longer sobbing. "Wait… I can feel her in the back of my mind! She's… still unconscious though…"

Sand wondered if the shadow magic had something to do with Tenebris absorbing Selendis' soul. "At least she's still with you in 'spirit'."

That got a small chuckle out of Tenebris, though he shook his head somberly. "She still… died. And your brother…"

"Papyrus wouldn't want me to grieve over him forever… I'm Sans by the way. Sans the skeleton."

"Tenebris."

Sans nodded. "As for your companion's body… well we can bury it here before I take you elsewhere."

"What about Papyrus' dust? Are you going to just leave it there?"

Sans nodded. "It's customary to have a monster's dust spread over the things they loved. He loved this scarf, so technically the custom is already fulfilled. I'm taking his scarf, though."

Tenebris nodded. "Alright. If you feel he's already been honored, I won't pry."

After burying Selendis' body, Sans took him through a "shortcut" to a place called Hotland. There, they entered a laboratory and shocked a yellow lizard-like monster in a lab coat. "S-S-Sans… wh-why is there a human- "

"He's not the one killing everything, if that's what you're thinking." Sans cut her off, which made her flinch. "Where's Undyne?"

"O-oh, she said she's on her way here. I just h-hope you know what your d-doing… wait is that b-blood?!"

Tenebris nodded. "The blood of someone I cared about… someone I couldn't save…"

"Oh no… I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to- "

"It's fine… at this juncture, I don't blame you for thinking like that. So many people have already died…"

Sans was about to say something when an armored monster burst into the lab. "Alphys, I'm here! Can you tell me- "Seeing Tenebris, she screeched to a halt and summoned a spear to point at him. "Why is there a human here?!"

"U-Undyne, wait! He can help us!"

She scoffed. "HELP US? He can help us by give us his soul! We were down here to begin with because of his kind and now- "

Sans stepped in front of him, eye sockets dark. "Stand down, Undyne. He's just as much a victim as the rest of us."

She hesitated before scrutinizing Tenebris who merely closed his eyes, regretful that it was one of his own species murdering all these monsters. Realizing her mistake, Undyne dissipated the spear. "My apologies, human. You aren't covered in dust, which is the tell-tale sign of a monster killer. It's just that things are very hectic with the string of monster murders going on."

Tenebris shook his head as Sans stepped aside. "Like I told your friend, I don't blame you. My name is Tenebris… and I also lost someone dear to me because of this genocidal maniac."

Undyne frowned. The name sounded familiar to her, but she brushed it off. "I'm Undyne, head of the royal guard and the one in charge of Waterfall."

The yellow monster spoke up, "A-and I'm Alphys, royal scientist under king Asgore."

Now it was Tenebris' turn to frown. He felt like he knew them already for some reason. Undyne cut off his though process. "So I guess the blood on your clothes is… your companion's blood?"

"Yes… I couldn't save her… much like…" He shot a look at Sans and the scarf in his hands.

Undyne followed his gaze and stopped dead before beginning to tremble. "S-Sans… please tell me that isn't… Papyrus'…?" All she got was a nod and she slowly backed away. "No… no…" Her face eventually went from pained disbelief to rage before she forcefully punched the wall. "DAMN IT! It's not FAIR! He was HARMLESS! HE WOULDN'T HURT A FLY!" She started flinging spears everywhere except where people were standing and a nearby monitor. "He was nice to everyone! He was my FRIEND! Monsters like that aren't supposed to die! They're supposed to stay safe!"

She slowly started crying before collapsing on the ground. "I'm… supposed to keep them safe… damnit, Papyrus… I'm… so sorry…"

Alphys gave her a hug. "Undyne…"

Tenebris could tell… everyone was suffering because of this megalomaniac. His depression slowly turned to anger and _hatred_ for this person. He clenched his fist tight enough to draw blood and he eye flared up, something Sans noticed. "Buddy, getting worked up over it now is not going to bring anyone back."

"I can't help it. I am so _enraged_ over this… somebody who thinks they're fucking GOD. I swear on the lives already lost, _**I will that person suffer as they have suffered!**_ "

Undyne gave the human a small grin. "Though you are a human and I am a monster, our hearts beat as one!"

"If I may interject." Sans stepped forward, catching everyone's attention. "There's something about Tenebris that's very… unique for a human. For one, his eye isn't normal."

Undyne gave it a discerning look. "Didn't Gerson have a book saying that users of shadow magic have an eye like that? Very interesting; I thought humans couldn't use magic."

Tenebris nodded. "They normally can't. The reason why I can… is not important. All that matters is that I'm willing to use it."

Sans shrugged. "Never doubted you there. Thing is, that's not even the most interesting thing about him."

Alphys gave him a confused look. "What could be more interesting than a human capable of learning magic?" Sans made Tenebris' and Selendis' souls appear, Selendis' smaller one now somewhat hiding behind Tenebris'. Both Undyne and Alphys looked at them in utter shock. "But how? Humans can't absorb other human souls!"

"I don't know and I don't know what this means in the long run. Perhaps his magic infused soul allowed him to absorb her. Whether it actually gives him a power boost or if it's purely for safe-keeping, that's yet to be known."

Undyne shook her head. "Guess the magic made your soul into something else. That geeky stuff isn't important, though! We can figure it out after we destroy that murderer!"

Tenebris was about to say something when Alphys cut him off with a panicked voice. "U-Undyne! Monster kid is approaching that human despite your warnings!"

Undyne's face contorted. "Damnit! I told him to stay away from that thing! He's too naive… and I don't want another monster like that dying!" Turning to Alphys she added, "I know you had preparations ready for evacuating the rest of the underground, but I'm going to see if I can't stop their rampage here. Regardless, go through with the evacuation plans; even I'm not certain I can stop them. Doesn't mean I'm not going to damn well try!"

She was about to dash off when Tenebris spoke up, "I'm going with you. I want to see who this person is as you bring them to justice. Maybe I'll be able to pitch in a little as well."

Undyne gave him a hard look before nodding with a smile. "Looks like you're one to at least try and take action. I like that. Only one thing about that: don't fall behind, punk!"

"Wait." Sans suddenly put his hand on Tenebris' forehead. He then transferred all of the training he did with Tenebris in the last "run" to the human's mind. "That should help you fight… or at least contend with that human. I need to check something out first, so I'll see you later." With that, he vanishes.

Tenebris was still staggered by the information overload, partially by the fact that he felt like he already knew all of it. He quickly shook it off and ran out after Undyne, shadow-stepping to catch up with her which made her give him an odd look. "What did Sans do?"

"Somehow teach me how to use my magic. Think about it later; we've got a kid to save and a murderer to destroy!" All he got was a nod. Despite him catching up to Undyne by shadow-stepping, he was still unable to keep up with her just by running.

Just as he caught up to her again, he witnesses her jump in front of a small monster on the other side of a bridge and take a seemingly fatal blow from the human in front of her. "Undyne! Wait… it can't be…"

The human child turned around and revealed herself as Frisk. "Oh, well what a coincidence seeing you down here, "Tenny"." The way she spoke screamed axe-crazy.

Tenebris took a step back as the monster kid ran away. "Frisk… what the… what the hell are you doing?! Why are you- "He was cut off when she swung and, despite his panicked summoning of a dark orb, sliced his right eye. He howled in pain as he shadow-stepped away before attempting to heal it off. Despite his efforts, he knew he was going to be blind in that eye.

"T-Tenebris! Look out!" He looks up at Undyne's shout too late for him to see Frisk take another swing at him. This time, his abdomen was cut open in the exact same was Selendis' was: a diagonal line across the stomach.

Frisk let out another psychotic laugh. "Oh that's just pitiful. I thought you were smarter than that."

Tenebris tried to heal that wound as well, but knew it wouldn't be enough to save himself, only delay the inevitable. Through the pain, he looked back up at Frisk, rage and hatred rekindled by a new feeling… betrayal. "D… damnit, Frisk. We… tried to save you! How could you turn… to this? To kill all these innocent people?!"

She merely giggled. "It's all just a game, Tenny. You should know how it feels to get stronger like this in your games."

He spat blood on the ground as Undyne slowly pulled herself back together. "That… and this have nothing to do with each other! But I see how it is; you betrayed us _**ALL!**_ For what?! Because it's just a _**game**_ to you?! How many innocents have you killed?! _How many more have to die?!_ What if Your family could see you right now?"

Frisk burst into maniacal laughter, though there were tears in her eyes for a different reason. Tenebris didn't see them as he stumbled back a bit more, clutching where his wound was quickly sapping his strength, and snarled, _"You_ _ **bitch…**_ _You're not even human anymore. You're a nobody; a nothing! I don't care if you were akin to a little sister to me._ _ **I will make you suffer for everything you've done!**_ _"_

"Tenebris, while I enjoy the enthusiasm, I'm ordering you to fall back to the lab!" Undyne had managed to use her determination to come back from the brink in a new form. "I can't have you dying here, not now." Seeing Tenebris hesitate, she growled at him. "NOW!" Reluctantly, managed to pull off an actual teleport to the lab. Looking at Frisk, she snarled. "He treated you like family and that is how you repay him? I'll tell you one thing for that…

"You're gonna have to try a LOT harder than THAT!"

When he teleported to the lab, Tenebris immediately collapsed from his wound, which refused to be fully healed, earning a scream of fright from Alphys. "Tenebris! Hold on, I'll get you patched up as soon as- "

"Sorry… Alphys. I kept trying to… heal it, but… it's… refusing."

"Damnit, Tenebris. I didn't want to lose you too!" The human looks up as Sans, who's eye sockets were dark. He spoke like he already completely knew him, like they were great friends in a past life.

Tenebris merely chuckled weakly. "Sorry… Sans… looks like… I won't get… a shot at… her after all…" Looking up at the monsters present, including a grey rectangle robot who had just arrived, he raises his hand. "Sorry… I couldn't… help any of you. Forgive me… Selendis…"

His hand fell limp. Alphys turned away to cry while Mettaton comforted her. Sans continued to stare at Tenebris' corpse in disbelief; not only did he just lose his brother, but he also lost someone who he saw as one of his best friends.

Sans got back up and walked a little bit away, unable to cry. Mettaton looked back at the dead human, only to sharply gasp. "Alphys, darling… is it natural for a human corpse to be twitching?"

/

Sorry if these chapters are shorter than what they used to be. It was kind of deliberate for the first chapter, but all of the things I wanted to limit to a particular chapter wind up not making them very long.


	25. Chapter 25 - Darkness

All eyes, or lack thereof, were on Tenebris' "corpse", wondering if Mettaton was just seeing things and the stress of everything that's been happening was making them go insane. After watching for a bit longer, his hand twitched again, causing Alphys to squeal in fright while Sans lit up his eye; he didn't know what trickery to expect.

What shocked them even further was when Tenebris suddenly moaned. "Ugh… could someone tell me why I feel like I'm lying on nothing? Am I floating? Is this hell, or just a wide expanse of nothing?"

Sans slowly deactivated his eye as he stared in disbelief. "T… Tenebris?"

"Oh, is that you Sans? You never told me you had shortcuts to the afterlife. Would have been nice to know."

Mettaton got a closer look at the human and noticed why he was acting like he was still dead… or acting like he passed on. "DARLING, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD TRY OPENING YOUR EYES."

This apparently startled the human. "Wait, who's there? And what do you mean- " Tenebris opened his eyes and saw Alphys, Sans, and Mettaton looking at him with shocked faces. "Hold on… I thought I died…?"

Sans continued to stare in disbelief… before slowly starting to laugh. "I have no idea how you managed to pull that off, but you did. That acting was very convincing, Tenebris."

This baffled the human. "What are you talking about, Sans? I legitimately thought I died, yet… I'm still alive?" He got up, but frowned when he put his hand on the floor. "Alphys, is your floor some kind of magic tile that has no temperature?"

Now it was everyone else's turn to be baffled. Alphys slowly shook her head. "N-no… my floor sh-should be cold…"

Now Tenebris was panicking a little. "D-did I lose feeling in my hands? Can someone tell me what's going on?!"

Alphys and Sans looked at each other while Mettaton started something up on his body. Sans shrugged. "Your guess is as good as ours, buddy. We legit thought you died, so when you started moving again, I thought you staged it."

"Why would I stage my death in this serious a situation? I think there's better things to accomplish than pretending to be dead."

"I THINK I JUST FOUND OUT WHY YOU CAN'T FEEL." Everyone looked at Mettaton, who shuddered. "DR. ALPHYS INSTALLED MANY THINGS ON MY BODY, INCLUDING VITAL SIGN SCANNERS. I REGRET TO INFORM YOU… THAT YOUR BODY HAS CEASED FUNCTIONING."

Alphys looked shocked, then confused. "You're saying he's still technically dead, even though he's awake and talking to us right now?"

"EXACTLY. THE CLOSEST PARALLEL I CAN DRAW IS THAT HE'S AKIN TO A ZOMBIE NOW, LIKE IN ONE OF YOUR ANIMES, ALPHYS."

Tenebris looked at his hand in shock before beginning to laugh. "Guess that explains why I'm not feeling any pain right now. Despite me… still being able to speak, and listen, I'm technically supposed to be dead. Guess that makes me a "dead man walking"."

Despite what was going on, Sans burst into laughter and both Alphys and Mettaton let out a chuckle. "IF YOU CAN LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF THINGS, DARLING, I DON'T THINK YOU REALLY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING. I'M METTATON, BY THE WAY."

"Tenebris. Nice to meet you." He looked around for a bit before his eye fell on the monitor, which made him panic. "Wait, forget about me! What about Undyne?!"

Alphys gasped and rushed over to the monitor… just in time for Frisk to strike a finishing blow against the undying heroine, causing the scientist to cry out in grief. "Damn it... so even THAT power... it wasn't enough...?" Sans' eyes grew dark; he didn't feel the world reset during that skirmish, meaning that the kid managed to beat her without resetting ONCE.

Tenebris, despite not feeling it, clutched his hand tightly with renewed rage and hatred. " _That bitch…"_

Undyne started laughing as her body slowly melted. "If you think I'm gonna give up hope, you're wrong. Cause I've... got my friends behind me. After all, Alphys told me she would watch me… and if anything went wrong, she would evacuate everyone else… she will also have called Asgore and absorbed the six human souls we already have… with that power…" She gives one large grin. "THIS WORLD WILL LIVE- "

She was cut off when a dark orb suddenly started approaching her. Tenebris immediately recognized it. "That's the orb I summoned in a panic when Frisk took out my eye! What is it- "

Undyne absorbed the orb and the area exploded with darkness, catching Frisk off guard. When the darkness began to dissipate, she looked and saw Undyne's silhouette, no longer looking like it's melting. She spoke with a slightly dark echo in her voice. "This power… I can tell this is Tenebris' power. So he left something to help me, intentionally or not, did he?" She let out a somewhat maniacal laugh. "He must really hate you for what you've done. Who am I to deny this power? Now… you may have defeated me twice, but this time… _things will be different!_ "

The dark mist fully cleared and everyone saw Undyne's new look. Her armor, formerly black, was now a dark purple with meaner spikes coming out of it. The red heart-shape on her front was now black and depicted with spikes coming off its sides. Mettaton let out a whistle as the dark warrior engaged Frisk again. "WHO KNEW SHE COULD GAIN SUCH A BOOST FROM SOMETHING CONSIDERED AN ACCIDENT. TENEBRIS, DARLING, YOU MUST BE FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU LET ON."

"I need to get back to her regardless of that!" Tenebris gritted his teeth. "That little bitch needs a double helping of pain!"

He was about to run out when Sans teleported in front of him. "Buddy, let Undyne handle her. This may sound odd, but I believe that she can deal out enough punishment on her own." Looking at Alphys and Mettaton, he continued, "Besides, I think we can refine those dark powers of your even further and I want to see how far you can go."

Tenebris looked between Sans and the monitor before sighing. "Alright, I'll go with you. However, I think we should remove what's left of my right eye; at this point it's just going to be an eye-sore." He paused for a second before chuckling a bit. "Unintentional pun."

Mettaton let out a sad sigh. "AND HERE I WAS THINKING I WOULD BE ABLE TO INTERVIEW YOU, POSSIBLY THE WORLDS FIRST SENTIENT ZOMBIE. OH WELL, I'LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE DO."

After getting his eye removed so that it was just a socket now, something that made Alphys extremely squeamish, Tenebris and Sans went back to Snowdin. Upon getting there, Sans let out a sigh. "Alright, buddy. I'm going to be very honest with you about something… that might make you call me insane."

Tenebris raised an eyebrow. "Me being something akin to a ghoul is already insane as it is, but I'll humor you."

Sans sighed again. "Well… I'll be blunt; I _know_ Undyne won't be able to handle that kid in the end, even with her new burst in power. Before you say anything, I didn't want to state that in front of Alphys; she looked hopeful that Undyne could pull through this time."

"What makes you so certain? Surely you would believe in one of your friends to do something like that?"

"Normally, I would since it would mean I don't have to do anything. However, that kid… is special. Do you know the concept of RESETTING?"

Tenebris mulled over it for a bit. "The only way I know of it is in video games, typically when you start a new file over an old one. Basically, you erase all of your progress to play the game from the beginning, save for instances of new game plus."

Sans looked down at the ground, dark thoughts clearly in his mind. "That sounds accurate… far too accurate for my liking. That kid? She is capable of doing _just that_."

Tenebris stood there for a few moments to process it before adopting a horrified look. "Y-you mean… she's _done_ this before?!"

"More than likely. How do you think she beat Undyne in her Undying form? Even with her upgrade to The Dark Undying, because that kid can RESET, it won't matter in the end. Even if she's killed, she'll just reset to an earlier point in time and try again; with full memory of everything from before."

"So… she chose to use that power just to kill everything, huh?" Tenebris began trembling with rage. "If _**I**_ had that power, I would try and use it for good! But nooooo… she has to treat these innocent lives like playthings in her twisted GAME."

Sans looked down. "Because of that, I don't think Undyne will be able to kill her in the- " both skeleton and undead felt the world suddenly shift. "Looks like you're immune to small resets like that one, huh?"

Tenebris merely growled. "That's good. That way, she will never be able to learn any "attack patterns" if I ever get the dubious _pleasure_ of skewering her. Speaking of, I'm willing to bet that's the reason why you were able to instantly teach me everything I currently know and why everything seems so familiar down here."

"Exactly and while I'm aware she might know my attacks as well, I'm going to try and extremely annoy her into quitting and resetting later on." This was punctuated by another RESET shift.

"Wait, you're not going to try and do that now?! Is it purely because your lazy… or…?"

Sans chuckles a bit. "So your ability to see someone's true face still hasn't changed, huh? Anyways, while I might be lazy, maybe she might just not be completely evil and won't kill every monster down here. If not… well… **she's gonna have a bad time.** "

Tenebris nodded. "Regardless of what happens, I'm going to be helping you no matter what you say. Still, have you pinpointed what allows her to reset?"

"DETERMINATION…"

Tenebris mulled over it before growing a wicked smile. "Alright… then I suppose she's going to know… **just what true fear really is.** "

"Sounds like you've got a thought in your mind. However, with regards to your magic, you've yet to learn everything. Before you only got up to intermediate level and it served you just fine then. Now, I think you will need everything at your disposal if you want to get anywhere."

Tenebris was about to say something when he was cut off by Selendis suddenly saying in his mind, _"W-what's going on? Why am I in Tenebris' body?!"_

Tenebris suddenly had a flat look on his face, earning a confused look from Sans. _"Selendis? You're awake?"_

" _T-Tenebris, what's going on? How am I in your mind?"_

" _Well… long story short, I somehow managed to absorb your soul to co-exist with mine and… well I died later on, but we still exist in this body despite it no longer functioning."_

" _S-so we're like a zombie now?"_

" _Or something close to it. I really don't care in the end, though. It means I can still get some justice from that little- "_

" _Wait, no! Please don't kill my sister!"_

That gave Tenebris even more pause before he growled in irritation. _"Why?! She's murdered so many innocent people, she's murdered ME, and most of all she murdered_ _ **her own sister**_ _! How can you- "_

" _I… I know defending her like this makes no sense. But please understand; that's not Frisk! The Frisk I know would never even willingly HURT anyone, let alone kill!"_

 _How can you be so certain? For all either of us know, she's kept up that façade for god knows how long!"_

" _I've still known her longer than you and I can tell you now: it's not her and never will be!"_

Tenebris let out a growl before Sans finally spoke up. "Okay, buddy, why do you look like you're having an internal conversation with yourself?"

Tenebris shook his head. "Oh, Selendis just came to… and is currently trying to convince me not to kill Frisk…"

That got a flat look from the skeleton. "Doesn't she realize just how much _pain and suffering_ that kid has inflicted on us?"

"It's under the context of "that's not her"."

" _Well it isn't! Please… you have to… you have to believe me!"_ Even in his mind, she was already growing desperate.

Tenebris opted to ignore her for now and stumbled a bit from yet another "RESET shift" before asking, "So are we going to start the advanced training now?"

"May as well; who knows how long Undyne will hold out in her new form. Just warning you now: this will be unlike anything you've done so far. Be ready for a grueling exercise."

Tenebris snorted and shook his head. "Need I remind you that I can't feel ANYTHING, even pain? I still have emotions, thank god, but my physical senses outside of hearing and sight are out of my scope."

Sans raises an eye socket. "Sounds inconvenient. Can't even tell if you picked up something properly or not since you can't feel it. Even still, perhaps It'll help you in the long run."

Tenebris nodded, continuing to ignore Selendis' pleas in favor of his rage as the world is rocked by another RESET shift. "Helpful or no, we need everything we can get. Let's get right down to figuring out what else I can do with my magic."

Thus, Tenebris began refining his dark magic to its greatest potential thanks to Sans still managing to remember what was in that book about the magic of darkness. Eventually, Tenebris had mastered his darkness completely including, but not limited to, being able to split off shadows to fuse with someone else's shadow allowing for two-way thought communication, create more than just shadow claws over his hands and arms, create dark portals anything can go through, shadow weaving which he used to repair his clothes, and the ability to turn his now-deceased body into pure shadow to move around and possess someone's soul directly.

He also managed to summon a new type of weapon. It starts off as a single-edged broadsword, but it can extend into an enormous scythe for additional reach and coverage. While he wasn't able to master the broadsword mode of this weapon, he was proficient with the scythe mode due to what Sans gave him in terms of memories.

During the training, Selendis never stopped pleading to Tenebris to not hurt or kill her little sister, that Frisk was being controlled by some outside force. Even after she learned of Frisk's ability to RESET, she was still firm in that belief. While Tenebris couldn't let go of his hatred at first, Selendis' insistence and kindness began to replace it with doubt and worry. What forced Frisk to change so suddenly?

At one point during the training, Sans had stopped dead in the middle of training, causing Tenebris to stop with a confused look. "Why are you stopping?"

"Ah… it seems your supposedly "empty" eye socket now has something in it." Seeing Tenebris' baffled look, he sighed and approached while bringing out a hand mirror. "Probably best if I gave you a mirror for you to see for yourself."

Tenebris took the mirror with an even more confused look before looking into it. What he saw surprised him: He still had his black and purple left eye, but now there was a green heart in his right eye socket. "Wait, since when did that happen?!"

" _I was about to ask the same thing… hold on, I can see out of it, though you're still the one controlling it."_

Tenebris shrugged. "I suppose it'll, at the very least, allow you to see what's going on." Seeing Sans' baffled look he elaborated, "Selendis can see through my right eye now, for some reason."

Sans thought for a moment before making the two souls appear. Despite there being a green heart in Tenebris' right eye, Selendis' green soul appeared with Tenebris'. "Perhaps it's a side effect of your mastery over darkness. Very interesting and curious…"

Tenebris hummed for a bit before realizing something. "Hey Sans… when was the last RESET?"

Sans thought for a moment before his eyes grew dark. "A while. Don't tell me the kid learned her new attack patterns already. Let me check something; be right back." With that he disappears. Tenebris stood alone in the snow-0covered fields of Snowdin before he came back. "Bad news, Undyne has fallen for the third and final time. Alphys went through with the evacuation, though unfortunately some monsters didn't get the memo and are still scattered throughout Hotland and the Core, easy prey for that kid."

Selendis let out a whimper in the back of Tenebris' mind; she desperately wanted to believe that it was something other than her dear little sister who was doing this. Tenebris gave a worried frown. "Shouldn't we try to evacuate them as well?!"

"I hate to admit it, but it's already too late for them. Besides, I kind of want to keep your continued existence in this plane a secret from the kid since she thinks you're dead."

Tenebris sighed, no longer filled with the hatred to get angry over it. "So… we just sit and wait?"

"Sadly, yes. However, since it will take the kid some time to get through Hotland and the Core, I want to introduce you to Asgore, our king down here." Sans was about to teleport the both of them when a thought crossed his mind. "Say, why don't you try using your portals to get there? You just learned how to make them, so maybe it's a good way of getting around."

Tenebris pondered it before nodding. "Guess it's worth a shot. Can't rely on you all the time to get me around after all."

Selendis let out a sigh. _"Why do I get the feeling it won't work out the way we want it to?"_

" _Hopefully that's not the case, but I'll be prepared for failure in that event."_

Tenebris focused for a bit before summoning his "broad-scythe" weapon and literally cutting open a portal that seemingly leads into darkness. Sans raised an eye socket. "Why did you have to use your weapon?"

"Portals I summon without doing this are not very big as of this point without being inefficient. Also, can I ask you to stay here in case this doesn't work like we think it will?"

Sans thought for a bit before nodding. "Alright, I'll give you five minutes. If you're not back by then, I'll assume you're at the capital."

Tenebris nods before jumping in and having the portal close behind him. When he looked around, all he saw was swirling purple darkness everywhere; darkness he could use if he ever drags an opponent into here. Selendis noted his thoughts on that subject. _"If that's the case, this is more like a pocket dimension than a portal. I don't think this will get us anywhere."_

Looking around for a bit more, Tenebris nods. _"I think you're right. Oh well, it was worth a sho- "_

 **("DARK… DARKER… YET… DARKER…")**

Tenebris jumped when he heard a ghastly voice come from the darkness. He summoned his weapon and looked around cautiously until he saw what looked like a skeleton in a black suit with a line coming from each eye socket; one going up and the other going down. "W-who are you?"

The skeleton seemingly ignored the undead human. **("THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING.")** This began freaking out both souls. **("THE SHADOWS CUTTING DEEPER… PHOTON READINGS NEGATIVE…")** The figure suddenly looked at Tenebris with what was actually a soft smile. **("IN RETROSPECT… IS THAT NOW… NECESSARILY A BAD THING?")** Approaching Tenebris, who was now staring with wide eyes, the figure bowed. **("DO NOT BE AFRAID, YOUNG ONE, FOR I AM NOT YOUR ENEMY.")**

Tenebris sputtered a bit before saying, "H-how did you get here? This is the first time I've… ever been here. Has this place been here the whole time?"

The skeleton looked surprised. **("YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME? CURIOUS… PERHAPS THIS DEMENSION IS HAVING THIS EFFECT. TO ANSWER BOTH YOUR QUESTIONS, THIS DIMENSION… DIDN'T EXIST UNTIL YOU CREATED A PORTAL TO THIS PLACE. WHEN IT WAS CREATED, I FELT MYSELF DRAWN INTO IT, ALLOWING ME TO FINALLY COLLECT MY ENTIRE BEING INTO ONE PLACE. I AM W. D. GASTER, FORMER ROYAL SCIENTEST OF KING ASGORE.")**

Tenebris bowed, though he was still shaky. "I-I'm Tenebris. W-what do you mean by "collecting your entire being"?"

 **("I'VE NOT THE TIME TO EXPLAIN. AS SUCH, I WANTED TO TELL YOU ONE THING: YOUR DARKNESS IS THE ANSWER TO STOPPING THE GENOCIDE PERMANENTLY IN THIS TIMELINE; THE FORCE THAT CAN TRANSCEND ANOTHER. SOON, THE CHOICES OF ONE HUMAN AND ONE FLOWER WILL DETERMINE WHETHER THIS TIMELINE WILL DECAY OR THRIVE.")**

Tenebris was confused when Selendis said, _"Is he talking about stopping Frisk?!"_

Shakling his head, the undead human asks, "What do you mean by my darkness stopping the genocide permanently? Are you saying I can stop the RESETS?"

 **("YES… AND NO… YOU WILL UNDERSTAND WHEN THE TIME COMES. UNTIL THEN, YOU NEED TO GO BACK; JUDGEMENT WILL SOON BE HELD.")** Tenebris was about to respond when the figure disappeared. Letting out a small sigh, he re-opened the portal and hopped back out. When he was gone, Gaster reappeared with his soft smile. **("AND THANK YOU FOR BEING SO KIND TO MY SONS….")**

When Tenebris hopped out of the portal, he found himself back in Snowdin… and in front of a very startled Sans. "Buddy, you were only gone for a second. Guess the portal idea is a no-go, huh?"

Tenebris and Selendis frowned physically and mentally respectively. It felt like they were in there for at least five minutes. "No it isn't. All my portals lead to what I think is a pocket dimension that I _somehow_ created. A veritable "world of darkness" as some people may call it."

Sans let out a sigh. "You are full of surprises. Regardless, guess we'll have to take one of my short-cuts to the capital; I don't know how much time we have until the kid gets there." With that, he grabs Tenebris' arm and they suddenly find themselves in a long hall with orange light filtering through. "Go on and meet the king. I'll wait here for the kid."

Uncertainty in both his mind and Selendis', Tenebris continued through the nearby door where the both of them felt a sense of déjà vu wash over them. This was especially so when they found a monster watering the flowers in the throne room. "Oh? Is someone there?"

Tenebris bowed nervously despite the king not looking. "Y-your majesty, I've come seeking an audience with you."

Turning around, Asgore said, "But of course. What did you need to- " He took as step back when he saw the undead human. "Well… I suppose if you… requested an audience, I can't say no to even a human."

"Former human, actually." Seeing the confused look on Asgore's face, Tenebris clarifies, "I've technically died, your majesty, and I continue to live on in a body that has ceased functioning. As such, I'm technically a walking corpse."

"A walking corpse? Can it be… can I see your soul?" Tenebris hesitated before nodding and exposing his soul. A look of realization spread across Asgore's face. "That explains it and also explains why you somehow managed to absorb another human's soul. Your soul has been infused with so much magic of a particular element, in this case shadow, that you've become part elemental."

Tenebris frowned. "That's why?"

"Indeed. In fact, I'm surprised your body isn't collapsing, or on the verge of doing so. While humans could use magic back before monsters were sealed underground, they couldn't hold large quantities like us monsters due to their physicality being very restraining to magic without suffering negative effects. Yet here you stand, a veritable bottomless well of magic."

Tenebris shook his head. "Good to know, but that's not why I'm here. There's… something in the underground slaughtering monsters and is the reason why I wanted an audience with you! Has Alphys called you to tell you to- "

Asgore let out a soft laugh. "To absorb the six human souls? I don't think the situation's that urgent." The prompted a look of disbelief from the undead; is this guy really that clueless?

"He's not lying!" Both Tenebris and Asgore look to see a small flower on the ground with a face… and a pleading one at that. "T-that human has been slaughtering everyone down here and… she's coming here!"

Tenebris frowned, wondering why both him and Selendis has some slight animosity towards this flower before ignoring it. "If my words aren't enough, then perhaps… what's your name?"

"F-Flowey the flower!"

"Perhaps Flowey's words can convince you? This isn't something we would joke about, Asgore!"

Asgore frowned before sighing. "It's not that I don't believe either of you. It's just that… I'm still missing one more soul. Absorbing the other six right now would force us to start all over again."

Flowey shook his head vigorously. "Better to start over than to die!"

Asgore let out a sigh. "If I recall correctly, Sans is supposed to hand out judgement to anyone coming to this place. That skeleton may be lazy, but he's one monster nobody should cross; despite not taking hits well, he can dole out punishment in spades."

Tenebris frowned before sighing. Asgore didn't seem like he was going to budge an inch on this. "If… that's how you feel… Flowey, see if you can't still convince him. I… need to check on Sans…"

Subconsciously, he knew Sans wouldn't let him fight with him, but he needed to be there to observe if Frisk really is under some third party's control. Heading back to the orange hall, he separated a shadow to merge with Sans' so that he can talk to him with thoughts. With that, he melded into the shadows to be inconspicuous and waited.

On the other end of the hall, Chara saved before a dimensional box with a smile. Despite this being her third attempt at genocide and trying to force Frisk into selling her soul, the second time with Selendis, Frisk's older sister, didn't change much. This time, however, Tenebris had left behind dark energy when he died. She had no problem with Undyne the Undying, but even she was caught off guard when the energy fused with the melting warrior and made her into something even stronger.

Chara welcomed it. It was "something new" and she enjoyed it immensely. In fact, she was disappointed that nothing else new like that happened during her genocide.

In the back of her subconscious, she recognized Frisk and how quiet she's been ever since they killed Papayrus, Selendis, and finally Tenebris. She merely laughed at the girl as she faced a shadow she's seen twice already. "Time for round number three, you comedian."

* * *

For those of you wondering, think of Tenebris' new weapon as something similar to Ragna's Bloodscythe from Blazblue.


	26. Chapter 26: Alone

Sans let out a small sigh as Frisk approached the skeleton, with Tenebris still in the shadows and watching with his one "good" eye; the one that can see a person's true face. Thus far, all he has seen of Frisk's face is one full of twisted, sadistic malice, something that made Selendis whimper and regress a little. She still desperately wanted to believe that Frisk wasn't the one in control, but all signs up to this point have been proving otherwise.

Frisk stopped a fair distance away from Sans who merely shook his head in disappointment. "heya… from the looks of things, you've been busy, huh? so… i've got a question for you. do you think even the worst person can change, that anyone can be a good person if they tried?" Frisk let out an amused giggle as she stepped towards Sans, making Selendis whimper even more.

Sans chuckled himself before saying, "all right… well here's a better question for ya." He pauses for a moment. _"Do you wanna have a bad time? if you take another step forward, you are REALLY not going to like what happens next… provided you "don't" know what happens next."_ Frisk takes another step, brandishing what looked like a malicious red knife. Sans merely sighs. "welp… sorry old lady. this is why i don't like making promises."

That hit both Tenebris and Selendis with some fridge horror. The pile of dust-covered clothes they saw near the exit to Snowdin was this "old lady" Sans was talking about. She was the one who owned that house; she was once a compassionate and caring monster who ultimately fell from her own kindness.

Tenebris snapped back to attention as the hall grew dark and Frisk's soul appeared; a red heart filled with determination. Tenebris could have sworn he saw her sclera turn black like his did for a split second, but passed it off as a change in the environment.

Sans hummed a little bit as Frisk tensed up, knife at the ready. "it's a beautiful day outside: birds are singing, flowers are blooming. on days like these, kids like you. _**Should be burning in Hell.**_ "

He suddenly turned Frisk's soul blue and slammed it against the ground, earning a wince from the homicidal girl before she suddenly jumped over a bunch of bones popping up from underneath her. She then weaved through more bones before Sans summoned gaster blasters to fire at her. She managed to dodge all but the last two, earning a small grin from Sans. "Huh… I always wondered why people don't start with their strongest attack first."

Chara let out an internal growl. Turns out that new fight with Undyne threw her off her game with Sans and he knew it. For all she knew, he was going to change things up to try and trip her up even more; though it actually excited her that Sans won't be as predictable this third time around. With a maniacal laugh, she swung at the skeleton, who side-stepped the "shock-wave" the swing produced. "Didn't think I would just stand there and take it, did you?"

As the battle went on, Sans occasionally managed to get a killing blow on Frisk, shattering her soul and causing a RESET to occur. Despite knowing Frisk would be fine because of that, Selendis let out an anguished cry every time Sans managed to kill her, with Tenebris looking away with a pained expression. Neither of the combatants have noticed Tenebris hiding in the shadows yet.

As the battle waged on between RESETS, Sans started talking about a massive anomaly in the spacetime continuum that ends everything before saying it was Frisk, which only served to let doubt continue to worm into Selendis' beliefs. Sans even stated the reason why he was so depressed on the inside and why he gave up trying to reach the surface: he knew everything would just reset anyways, though this is the one time he couldn't afford not to care about.

A few more misses and RESETS from Frisk and Sans let out a grunt, sweat beginning to form on his skull. "T-that being said, you really like swinging that thing around, don't you?" He closes his eyes before saying, "Listen, I know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there, I can feel it. There's a glimmer of a good person inside of you, the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. Someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? A little sister? C'mon, buddy, don't you remember me? Don't you remember your sister and your big-brother figure? Please, if you're listening... let's forget all this, okay? I'm sure they would forgive and forget as well."

Hearing Sans' words, Frisk began fighting to regain control again, to try and prove to him that she didn't want this. She didn't want to murder her sister, Tenebris, Papyrus, Undyne, Toriel, or Mettaton. She didn't want any of this. She wanted to say sorry... to beg for forgiveness for what has happened… for what she has done. Chara merely grinned "You really have forgotten, haven't you? Well, don't think for a second that he'll forgive you for slaughtering his friends and family. Regardless of what you say, though, I'm not giving you back control. I've come too far!"

Frisk merely laughed… and laughed hard at Sans before suddenly taking another swing at the skeleton. The skeleton merely dodged with a sigh and a look of acceptance; he tried to reach for any semblance of a good person that may have been in her, like Selendis begged him to, and all he got was a laugh in the face. "Well… I guess you like doing things the hard way, huh? Too bad, I sincerely believed that the two humans who died down here looking for you would have forgiven you. _**Guess you really are a megalomaniac.**_ "

From that one action, Selendis' mind had fully shut-down. The little sister she thought she knew was never real to begin with, that she had been raising a homicidal sister this entire time who had undoubtedly plotted her older sister's death.

Tenebris, realizing Selendis' state and also reeling from Frisk's decision, let out a depressed sigh before slinking through the shadows and back towards Asgore. The Frisk Selendis, and by extension himself, knew never existed. Both were utterly crushed. Tenebris wanted to cry… but he couldn't. Hatred once again began welling within him, but a lot more subdued than before.

Reaching the throne room once again, Flowey was still trying to convince Asgore that the threat all of them were facing is real. "I keep telling you that smiley trash bag won't last against that kid!"

"Why do you keep insisting on calling Sans that? Besides, we need to have more faith in- " Asgore was cut off when Tenebris entered with a somber look. "Oh, there you are, young elemental. I thought you were observing the fight?"

"I was… until she threw his offer of mercy back at him and crushing any hope that the kid we knew was still there. Turns out… she played me and her sister for fools the entire time we knew her. Now Selendis' mind had gone into shock…"

Flowey grimaced. "Are you kidding me? You had hoped she was a good person?"

Tenebris nodded. "That we did… I did… and they were thoroughly dashed." Holding his palm upward, he focused for a bit before Selendis' soul appeared, looking a bit greyer than usual.

Asgore immediately knew what it meant and looked down. "That soul… must of really cared about that kid… huh?"

"More than you know, your majesty. And… I know you are still in desperate need of another soul… but I implore you… let her have her peace. She's suffered more than enough…" Tenebris gave Asgore a pleading look. He didn't know if that's what she truly wanted, but she was no longer in any condition to decide for herself what she wanted. She deserved to ascend… to move on to the next life.

Asgore slowly nodded. Monster souls were grey by default and that was normal and natural. But when a human soul starts turning grey, it meant that all their hopes and dreams have been crushed and they were left without joy or purpose. "Let her have her peace, then…" Tenebris let go of her soul and it slowly drifted higher before shattering and dispersing. The undead human merely looked down, still unable to cry.

Flowey sighed, beginning to feel the smallest tugs of compassion at his conscience, but it kept slipping away and being overshadowed by pity. He shook his head. "That still leaves the problem of that kid. Sooner or later, they'll get past Sans and they'll come here."

Tenebris noted that Flowey started referring to Frisk by gender-neutral pronouns but didn't comment on it. "Like it or not, Asgore, I have to agree with Flowey. Besides, I think I'm the only one who can put a true stop to that kid. I don't care if you're absorbing the other six human souls or not, you should retreat further back an away from this place." When Asgore was about to argue, he got a death glare from Tenebris. _**"I. Said. Go."**_

Asgore gulped and nodded before heading for the next room behind the throne. Tenebris looked at Flowey, who had a confused look on his face. "What makes you so certain that YOU can stop them?"

"All I can say is… I'm going to jam her RESET button and teach her the true meaning of fear." Flowey gawked. He knew smiley trash bag would tell this undead human about the RESETS, but he never expected the very same person to claim he can stop the RESETS. Flowey didn't get a chance to respond when Tenebris said, "You should get out of here as well, Flowey. I'd rather not anyone get caught in the crossfire."

The flower let out a sigh. "I hope you know what you're doing." With that, he disappears underground.

Tenebris shook his head. "I hope I know as well." He suddenly hears the sound of bone getting sliced through and said bone containing liquid. "Guess Sans wasn't able to hold out past here. Looks like it's soon to be my turn." Despite knowing Frisk was coming, he kept his back turned to the entrance of the room as he heard footsteps slowly approach.

Chara let out a quiet chuckle as Frisk seemingly and completely shut herself down from being unable to accept Sans' mercy. She knew that forcing Frisk into selling her soul would be easy after this, especially if she is tempted with the fact that it would bring her family back. All so that she could finally get past the barrier and begin the slaughter of humanity.

She frowned when she thought back to her previous two attempts in this particular timeline. Frisk had managed to wrestle back control right after killing Sans and force a RESET the first time Chara took over and forced her to commit genocide.

It was that RESET that brought Selendis into the fold… relatively speaking. Selendis existed first time around, it's simply that she died with Frisk's parents in that particular set of runs. After RESETTING from the first attempted genocide, things went back to before Frisk fell down into Mt. Ebott. There, Frisk lost her memories of all previous runs and Selendis was somehow spared from her fate.

Despite that, Chara's second attempted genocide didn't change much, outside of Selendis begging Frisk to stop and remember who she was. Frisk resisted a lot as she was forced to end her sister's life right before Undyne the Undying, but other than that, nothing really changed. She let Frisk accept Sans' offer of mercy, only to have her spirit completely broken when he dunked on her. What threw Chara off was when Frisk suddenly forced a RESET right before she could extend the deal to her, resulting in another memory loss and the existence of Tenebris.

Selendis was understandable. Tenebris wasn't; he was literally a stranger that, in this timeline, Frisk had gotten randomly attached to and just so happened to have access to the magic of darkness.

Chara shook the thoughts from her head. Outside of Dark Undyne, nothing else really has changed. It's just a matter of making sure Frisk finally accepts her "deal".

Entering the throne room, Chara expected to see Asgore commenting on how flowers aren't supposed to cry. What she saw when she entered was a figure clad in black that looked strangely familiar. When it heard her and turned around, she gaped as she saw Tenebris. "What?! How… how are you…"

Tenebris shook his head. "Oh my, I didn't think you still cared! Since you asked and it's been a while, I've been really busy being dead. You know _ **... after you murdered me.**_ "

Chara stared for a bit before laughing, misinterpreting the "busy being dead" thing as a metaphor. "Aw, Tenny! You should have told me you survived that wound. We could have met up much sooner to discuss the future!"

Tenerbis scoffs. "Perhaps I could have, but I'm sure that nothing would have changed; I simply waited here of all placed. Besides, I know we both have done things you'll regret… but I believe we can put our differences behind us… for justice… _**you little nothing**_."

Chara let out a loud laugh as she brandished her knife. "Big words, but I wonder if you can even remotely back them up. Sans wasn't that much of a challenge after a while, so what makes you think you can do better?"

"Oh, give me the next ten minutes or so and I can prove it to you pretty quickly. After all, everyone else save a few monsters are dead and I'm sure you have ALL the time in the world!" The area grew dark and Frisk's soul appears. Tenebris could see that her true face was… somehow distorted but shook it off. "Besides, what better way of catching up than to- "

He sees Frisk swing at him, prompting a dodge out of him. He gives her a flat look before teleporting right in front of her and punting her across the room. "I wasn't finished you little bitch. Great, now I forgot what I was going to say. Oh well, maybe it'll come back to me as I'm beating your ass into the ground."

With that, he summons an umbra blaster and fires it at Chara, who had just recovered from the punt and managed to dodge, though she got singed by the energy. Chara immediately recognized that he truly was a different ball-park than Sans; he wasn't out to annoy. He was out to kill.

When Chara slashed at Tenebris again, he dodged again and began sporadically summoning shadow spikes from the floor, easily nailing her a few times. Most of the spikes were dark purple like his darkness, but some were jet black. When she was hit by one, she could suddenly feel fear encroaching on her mind, though she managed to hide it.

He flung a few shadow fire balls before saying, "I must admit one thing. You were quite proficient at hiding your true nature up until this point. Who could have ever known that sweet and innocent little Frisk was a murderer at heart? Goes to show that you should never judge a book by any covers."

Chara could feel those words wound Frisk and she merely laughed. "Why thank you, Tenny! It really was hard work to hide all of this murderous intent."

He frowned as he spread a sheet of dark ice on the ground before her, causing her to slide across the room. "That wasn't a compliment." He used spikes to launch her back to the other side of the room and into an explosive orb. "Though I suppose it did sound like one, so I'll let it "slide"."

Chara stopped herself with a growl and swung again, only to miss again. She was getting really annoyed by the fact that she has to deal with yet another dodger. "Stand still!"

"Why should I? Those who stand like a pillar fall in battle. Those who move and bend like reeds triumph."

"Try saying that to Sans. He dodged too, yet he still lost!"

Tenebris scoffed. "He WOULD of won… if you didn't treat death as an inconvenience."

That only made Chara smile wider. "You know about the RESETS? Then why are you trying if you know that it won't mean anything in the end?"

Now it was Tenebris' turn to smile. _**"Because I have a way to prevent you from doing so."**_

He summoned another umbra blaster and fired it, but Chara managed to dodge it and the searing energy that came off the beam. What she didn't expect was that very same beam suddenly hitting her from above and dealing a very large amount of her HP, even more than what Sans' gaster blaster could ever do to her. Looking up, she sees a swirling portal close up.

Chara goes in for another swing, knowing that like Sans he couldn't dodge forever, and he didn't move out of the way. She quickly found out why: he blocked it with what looked like a single-edge broadsword. "You think you're the only one who can wield an edge around here?"

He managed to engage Chara in a pseudo sword fight, with him occasionally gaining the upper hand and wounding her a bit. He kept throwing her off whenever the broadsword turned into a scythe and when she thought she was out of his reach.

Chara scarfed some instant noodles down which healed her to full HP before dodging some more attacks. She began laughing manically once again as she continued dodging; this was the "something new" she had been looking for this whole time and she was enjoying it.

Tenebris heard her laugh and frowned. It was almost as if she enjoyed it, like it was a new experience she was looking forward to. It was admittedly, hard for him to give it his 100% because doubt over if this truly was Frisk still lingered in his mind. He was going to give her a horrible time for sure, but he always hesitates when he thinks about outright killing her.

Shaking his head clear of those thoughts, he sees Chara go in for another swing when he suddenly counters her with a shadowy blade coming off his hand and forearm. Then he starts slashing at her with shadow claws before turning one into a whip, grabbing her, and smashing her into the ground on alternating sides. He ends of with an electric shock before flinging her away.

Scarfing down a legendary hero, Chara goes in for another slash, opting to change her angle of approach. She was suddenly caught off guard by a reflection barrier stopping her short before he fires another orb of energy at her. She managed to dodge it, only for him to suddenly teleport her right back into the orb and having it explode on her.

Standing up, Chara gave him a grin. "Give up. You know you can't win. You're going to run out of magic sometime."

Tenebris merely looked at her before sighing. "And here I was hoping thing would truly be different. Guess I- "

He was cut off when Chara managed to land a hit on him, spraying blood everywhere and earning a cry of triumph from her. "You IDIOT. In this world, it's kill or be killed! I'd say it was nice knowing you… but it hasn't." Tenebris looked down at his wound before suddenly rushing her with claws and juggled her with spikes. Recovering, she gave him a baffled look. "You should be dead right now!"

He lets out a sigh. "Remember when I said I was busy being dead? I wasn't lying. You did this to me, Frisk. You've turned me into an undead abomination that cannot feel pain… or even feel. All this time you've been murdering without much fear of retribution. It's only a matter of time before someone like me showed up to put you in your place."

Chara bristled with anger and continued fighting. After a while longer and some more wounds she began huffing angrily. "I refuse to accept that you are unkillable! Guess I'll just have to crush your soul directly!"

"And I guess I have to try something else." With that, he enhances himself with an aura that Frisk has never seen before, nor did Tenebris know the effect of. He managed to get off a few hits with nothing different happening, but when he brought out his sword and sliced her with it, a small piece of her soul suddenly separated from her and was absorbed into Tenebris.

Tenebris flinched and stumbled backwards. He could feel the soul piece in him and, knowing what he must do, managed to erase the consciousness and memories attached to the piece. By that action, both Chara and Frisk both felt themselves missing a part of their memories and consciousness. This made Chara freak out; she suddenly could no longer feel her SAVE from losing Frisk's determination. She's effectively fighting the Grim Reaper himself. "No… NO! I refuse to be defeated here!"

Tenebris merely said nothing as he kept his weapon out. He started using his magic to force her into getting hit by his weapon and having bits of her soul get absorbed and scrubbed. He occasionally had to refresh his "reaper aura", but that was all he did.

He wasn't winning by infecting her determination with fear. He was winning by scrubbing her memories and personality out of existence, out of her soul. The entire time, his mood slowly worsened; he was forcing the girl he came to see as a little sister out of existence. It didn't help when she, with enough soul to still have a personality, began begging him to stop. He continued regardless; he came this far… he may as well see it through.

After he managed to absorb and scrub the last soul piece, all that was left of Frisk was a still living shell. Alive, yet not alive. Looking away, he beheaded her and ended her life before walking away from the scene with Frisk's recompleted, yet now blank soul inside of him.

He had avenged Selendis. He had avenged all of the monsters who had been mercilessly killed. He avenged Sans who, despite not knowing him for long, felt like the first person besides Frisk who understood him.

He didn't feel happy. He felt as empty as the soul he had forcefully stolen. When everything was said and done…

He was all alone.

Heading in the direction of Asgore, the monster king took notice of both his presence and his darkened mood. Looking at him, the king merely asked, "The child… is dead?"

Tenebris nodded slowly before presenting Asgore with the red soul. "I… extracted this from her and… erased her from it. It's… just a blank soul now…" Seeing Asgore about to ask how, he shook his head. "Don't ask… just save what's left of your kind. Break the barrier… don't let her soul go to waste…" With that, Tenebris vanished.

Asgore closed his eyes and prayed for both him and the soul's original owner before heading forward and absorbing all seven souls, becoming a god and shattering the barrier. True to what both Tenebris and Flowey said, many monsters were killed by a human. There was still a fairly sizable population thanks to Alphys' efforts, but the effects were felt by everyone.

Despite his reluctance to do so, Asgore kept to his word about eradicating the humans from the surface. Soon, the human race became extinct and monsters were able to move onto the surface and live in reletave peace. When his subjects were settled in, he went to find the one person whom had allowed this to happen.

He could never find Tenebris again and this saddened the god-king as he knew. Tenebris was undead, meaning his soul won't pass on until someone forces it to or it becomes too strained for magic. He would never find peace. He would be cursed to wander the earth, to live with the deaths of the people he cared about weighing heavily on his back.

Forever… and all alone.

 **THE END**

* * *

.

.

.

.

.

*Hey.

(Flowey appears before you, frowning.)

*Look… I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right now…

*Well… I suppose I'll get to my point. I managed to watch Tenebris' battle with Chara. The way Tenebris… ended the battle permanently…

*I could tell; it tore him up inside. I think he could tell that the kid he knew before going underground still existed in that soul as he was… scrubbing it.

*Yet… he still went through with it… because it was the only way he could think of to save her from a fate worse than death…

*In the aftermath he vanishes, but I know he started wandering the earth, never forgiving himself for what he did.

*If you ask me… that's a fate worse than what I've got. At least I couldn't feel the compassion to really care about it… but him?

*I… guess that entire scene managed to instill sympathy in me. And that ending… I don't like it.

*Sure call me, Flowey the Omnicidal Flower, hypocritical because I once attempted a genocide before Chara ever did.

*Well… things have changed. Thanks to Chara instilling a sense of fear into me, it somehow made way for other emotions to begin coming back as well.

*It's ironic, really. If that didn't happen, I… probably wouldn't be talking to you about this. I would have been fine with leaving this as they are now.

*But not this time.

*Now for those who are savvy enough with my appearance before you or for those have been spoiled by the interface, you can probably guess what I'm going to do.

*When Tenebris scrubbed that kid's soul clean, all that was left is determination. Determination without a personality to use it is… useless.

*As such, I somehow regain control over the timeline and… I can LOAD the save before Chara's battle with Sans.

*You can probably tell where I'm going with this.

*Now I know there will be people who will like this ending the best. I can't judge you; older me would have been the same way.

*If this is the ending you want, then congratulations. You've finished the story.

*For everyone else… well I don't know if anyone, including Chara or myself, will remember these events.

*If that's the case… regardless, I'll see you all on the other side.

*Here's to hoping something better will turn out from this.

CONTINUE


	27. Chapter 27 - Release

Chara stumbled a bit as she suddenly felt dazed, confusing her immensely. She's never felt it before in any of the previous runs and the closest thing she could relate it to is LOADING after a death. Connecting the dots, she made a mental note to confront the little cry-baby traitor about it later. Frisk also felt it, but she was still reclusive in the back of Chara's consciousness, still distraught over killing the people she knew and loved.

Sans and Tenebris both felt something similar, though both were limited to slight dizziness and both decided to ignore it. Sans let out a small sigh as Frisk approached the skeleton, with Tenebris still in the shadows and watching with his one "good" eye; the one that can see a person's true face. Thus far, all he has seen of Frisk's face is one full of twisted, sadistic malice, something that made Selendis whimper and regress a little. She still desperately wanted to believe that Frisk wasn't the one in control, but all signs up to this point have been proving otherwise.

Tenebris, oddly, was hoping even harder for Selendis to be correct.

Frisk stopped a fair distance away from Sans who merely shook his head in disappointment. "heya… from the looks of things, you've been busy, huh? so… i've got a question for…" Sans cut himself off when he noticed an odd look from the kid. Thinking that a RESET already happened somewhere, he merely shakes his head. "Let's just skip to the point."

Tenebris frowned. He felt like Sans was skipping something he has yet to hear… yet has already heard. He began wondering if another RESET somehow occurred without Sans or himself noticing or feeling it.

Sans hummed a little bit as the area grew dark and Frisk tensed up, knife at the ready. "it's a beautiful day outside: birds are singing, flowers are blooming. on days like these, kids like you. _**Should be burning in Hell.**_ "

He suddenly turned Frisk's soul blue and slammed it against the ground, earning a wince from the homicidal girl before she suddenly jumped over a bunch of bones popping up from underneath her. She then weaved through more bones before Sans summoned gaster blasters to fire at her. She managed to dodge all but the last two, earning a small grin from Sans. "Huh… I always wondered why people don't start with their strongest attack first."

Chara frowned; she felt like she's already heard that this run and Sans was usually good at reading if people have heard what he said before, like he, somehow, did earlier. Her earlier daze throwing her off and the prospect of Sans doing something new didn't excite her for some reason. Regardless, she engaged Sans once again.

As the battle went on, Sans occasionally managed to get a killing blow on Frisk, shattering her soul and causing a RESET to occur. Despite knowing Frisk would be fine because of that, Selendis let out an anguished cry every time Sans managed to kill her, with Tenebris looking away with a pained expression. Neither of the combatants have noticed Tenebris hiding in the shadows yet.

As the battle waged on between RESETS, Sans started talking about a massive anomaly in the spacetime continuum that ends everything before saying it was Frisk, which only served to let doubt continue to worm into Selendis' beliefs. Sans even stated the reason why he was so depressed on the inside and why he gave up trying to reach the surface: he knew everything would just reset anyways, though this is the one time he couldn't afford not to care about.

A few more misses and RESETS from Frisk and Sans let out a grunt, sweat beginning to form on his skull. "T-that being said, you really like swinging that thing around, don't you? Listen, I know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there, I can feel it. There's a glimmer of a good person inside of you, the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. Someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? A little sister? C'mon, buddy, don't you remember me? Don't you remember your sister and your big-brother figure? Please, if you're listening... let's forget all this, okay? I'm sure they would forgive and forget as well."

Chara let out an internal laugh, finally recovered from her bad start. "How utterly stupid does he think I am? As per usual, what a fool, just like his brother!" Frisk suddenly stopped Chara from hitting the FIGHT button within their subconscious, not wanting her to fight anymore. This earned an even bigger grin from Chara. "Oh? This is the third time you've suddenly tried to stop me. First with your sister and that other dumb skeleton, and the second time with that shadow-eyed human whom you've barely known."

Frisk looked away. "I-I know he h-hasn't been in my life t-that long, but- "

"Ever since then, you've been ever so quiet." Chara cut Frisk off and the latter whimpered at the words. Chara saw the look on her face and snickered. "What, you wanted to show this comedian mercy?" Frisk nodded vigorously. "You've truly forgotten what would happen if you did? Adorable. Do you really think he would forgive you THAT easily? That he would forgive you for the slaughter of everyone he loves?"

"I-I-I… I want to believe t-that… that…"

Chara observed for a bit before shaking her head in amusement. "Guess it can't be helped. It's been a while since you've asked for something. Despite something telling me I SHOULD say no, I think I'll… let you have a chance." She let out a maniacal grin. "Well… go on now. **Accept his "mercy".** " Frisk let out a happy sound as she pressed the MERCY button in her subconscious.

Tenebris frowned in confusion and Selendis was holding her metaphorical breath. Frisk's face was, for some reason, unreadable after Sans extended his offer of just stopping. There was a long silence and it was putting everyone paying attention on edge.

The silence was broken when Frisk suddenly dropped her knife. What threw everyone off even more was when she let out a loud, mournful wail. Tenebris let out a silent gasp when he got a good look at Frisk's face. Gone was the look full of sadistic and murderous glee. What he saw was a face full of tears… sadness… pain… _regret…_

Selendis let out a mental gasp. _"I-I… I was r-right…"_

Sans was caught off guard before he said, "H-hey kid, what's with the wail and tears? If you don't stop crying, I'll start cryin' too." He lets out a relieved sigh, despite Frisk's continued crying. "Listen, I know the choice I gave you wasn't an easy one, but I'm admittedly glad we've stopped fighting." Through the shadow he fused with Sans' shadow earlier, Tenebris realized what his intentions were as he spread his arms. "C'mere, **pa-** "

" _Sans… NO…"_

Sans cut himself off and adopted a surprised look when he heard Tenebris' voice echo through his mind. Frisk gave him a tearful, yet confused look and Chara, in the back of Frisk's consciousness now, was wondering why he cut himself off.

Everyone suddenly heard footsteps echoing from behind where Sans stood. Frisk couldn't see past him, but when Sans turn around, he realized who it was and let out a small sigh. "Should have known you would observe the fight." He side-steps and Frisk let out a gasp as she saw Tenebris approach both her and Sans.

Chara was suddenly baffled. _"How did he survive that wound?! I could have sworn he died when he teleported away; I saw the blood at the lab and assumed the monsters merely took his body elsewhere!"_

Tenebris stopped and gave Frisk's tear-filled face a long look before he went down onto one knee. "Come here… kid."

Frisk stood there for a moment longer before her expression became more pained and rushed forward to embrace Tenebris. He accepted the embrace and, much to Sans' apparent surprise, he never attempted "dunking on her" as he was planning to.

Tenebris was trying to comfort the distraught child as best as he could as she cried into his shoulder, choking out apologies. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I… I…"

He gives her a kiss on the forehead. "Shh… it's okay, Frisk. I know it's not your fault."

That only made her cry harder. "It… it is… I… I killed… I killed… so… many…" Tenebris let out an internal sigh; He wished he could feel her and know how hard to hug. He didn't realize that Selendis was helping him with the hug as she tried to comfort her little sister through Tenebris.

At this point Chara was trying to win back control. Not only was Tenebris still alive, but he prevented Sans from dunking on Frisk like he did the last time. _"Nononono, this wasn't supposed to happen! I need back control and I need it back NOW!"_

Chara's panic in Frisk's subconscious tipped Tenebris off that Frisk wasn't out of the woods yet due to his proximity to her. Drawing her away, he held her head steady with both hands and looked her in her green eyes with his purple eye and green heart. "Frisk, I **know** you aren't to blame for all of these atrocities; you're just as much a victim as everyone else. But I need to know: do you still trust me?"

Frisk nodded as best as she could. "Y-yes. I-I t-trust y-you, T-Tenny!"

Tenebris let out an internal sigh. She responded pretty quickly to the question, yet he still believed her. "Heh… glad to see the Frisk I still know and love."

She gave a tearful smile as he touched his forehead against hers. Selendis knew that Tenebris was planning something, but refrained from asking. "However, I need you to trust me on something I'm about to do. It… may be painful, but you need to stay determined through it. All I ask is that you bear with me throughout it." She gave him a look of confusion and he sighs; he was never good at breaking things to people. "Sans… catch her."

Sans was about to ask why when Tenebris' body suddenly morphed into pure shadow and forced itself into Frisk's soul. Frisk had the briefest look of pain before blanking out and began falling over with Tenebris no longer there to support her. Sans did catch her before she fell onto the ground before looking at her soul. It was now almost enshrouded in darkness, though he could see it just fine, even seeing Selendis' soul right behind it.

Frisk's body twitched a bit as Sans sighed. "Whatever you're doing in there, bud, I hope you know your way around."

Inside the darkness of Frisk's subconscious, Tenebris appeared in a flash of blue light. There was a green flash and Selendis was right next to him, though more transparent than Tenebris. "This is your ability to enter someone's soul?"

"Yes, though it's… not how I imagined it to be. Since you're here as well, we should try and find Frisk in here before anything else."

Selendis suddenly rushes forward. "I think I already see her!"

Tenebris looks and finds the brown-haired girl sitting a distance away with a dazed look. He could already tell that it was the true Frisk and approached as Selendis embraced her sister. "S-Selly? H-how are you here? I-I thought I… thought I…" Frisk slowly started breaking down again.

Selendis held her sister's head to her chest. "Shh, it's okay, Frisk. I know that wasn't you who killed me or all of those monsters."

Tenebris approached with a soft smile. "Truth be told, I somehow managed to absorb her soul when I found her. It was Selendis who managed to convince me that what was going on wasn't your fault."

"You make it sound like I was the only thing that changed your mind. I could tell you still had doubts in the back of your mind." Selendis shook her head. "If only we reunited under better circumstances."

Tenebris started frowning, not saying anything before walking away a bit as Selendis continued to comfort Frisk. He could tell there was another consciousness besides the three of them; more than likely the one forcing Frisk into committing atrocities. He closed his good eye and focused a bit, Frisk looking at him with worry. "T-Tenny?"

He opened his eye and glared forward. "You think you can hide from me here, Chara?" He suddenly shot a dark hand out and slammed the fallen child into the supposed "ground" in front of him, earning a gasp from Selendis and a whimper from Frisk.

Chara looked up with a smile, a black liquid coming out of her eyes from the impact. _"I should have known you would find me. It's like you've already done this; else you wouldn't have known my name."_

"Wrong. As I was entering Frisk's subconscious, I managed to glean some of your memories. It was just a matter of pin-pointing your location in here and dragging out of the darkness." Tenebris let out a huff as he glares at her smiling face. "But I digress. **You're the one who forced her into killing all of those innocent people.** "

She lets out a cruel laugh. _"Yeah, so? What are you going to do about it? You don't know what fighting me here will do to the one who you consider to be a little sister."_

Tenebris shook his head. "And you severely underestimate me." He grabbed Chara with another shadow hand. "Selendis, look after Frisk!" He forced Chara and himself to exit Frisk's soul before she could ask why.

Sans had been observing the kid's darkness-covered soul when it started twitching erratically. The Darkness suddenly separated from the soul in two dark balls, surprising the skeleton. The bigger one turned out to be Tenebris, but the other one surprised him; it was a being that looked like a human child; it looked almost like the kid save for the green shirt, red eyes, and black sclera. "Whoa… I suppose that's the reason why the kid you knew suddenly started murdering things, huh?"

"More than you know. This thing was borderline torturing her psychologically by having her kill me and her sister." Sans blanched at that; he felt his sins crawling on his back when he remembered that he was going to dunk on who was essentially the biggest victim in all of this.

Chara couldn't believe that she was so easily forced out of Frisk when their consciousness' were tied together the moment Frisk fell on her grave. "This isn't happening!" What switched her mood was the fact that she once again had her own body, and the fact that her "real" knife was right next to her. Picking it up with another laugh, she looks at the trio, her smile once again gracing her face. "Oh well. Thanks to you, I've got my own body. I don't need her body anymore, but I do need her soul for what I want to do."

Tenebris shook his head as he summoned his own weapon. "Don't think I'll let you get away with that."

Chara laughed as she rushed at Tenebris. "You idiot! What can you possibly- "

Tenebris suddenly ripped a portal open to the world of darkness and hit the fallen child into it. Looking around it at Sans, he sees Frisk beginning to wake up. "Sans, take care of her until I'm done… or dead."

This time, the undead waited for Sans' response. "Heh… you're giving me a workout here, bud. Still, I trust you know what you're doing. Give that… thing a bad time." Tenebris nods before jumping in after Chara.

Chara got back up as Tenebris landed a fair distance away from her, irritation on her face. "How many more times are you going to toss me into a new place?"

Tenebris smirked. "Aw, feeling worn out after just two tosses? Don't worry. _**I'll make sure you're tossed like a salad before I'm done with you.**_ "

Chara sent a red shockwave at Tenebris with her knife, no longer limited to just physical strikes. ""Done" with me? By preventing that comedian from helping you, you've effectively doomed yourself to die by my hands. How you survived the first time, I'm guessing I'll find out soon enough, but I'll make sure your properly dead this time!"

Tenebris simply dodged and fired an umbra blaster in response. "Big words for a little nobody who possessed someone I care about. **I'm going to enjoy this more than I should.** "

Chara sent delayed shockwaves at him in an effort to trip him up. He merely teleported away and began lobbing fireballs at her from a shadowy pillar, forcing her to dodge a rain of dark fire. The dark ice he started spreading on the ground didn't help her case, especially when he coupled it with barbed spikes. She managed to slice the pillar he was standing on, bringing him back down to her level, though not before having an umbra blaster beam get shot through a portal and coming out another at her.

Chara smirks as she dodges a volley of dark energy bolts. "You know, most of the monsters I've killed up to this point were chattier than you. What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

Tenebris shakes his head as he suddenly teleports her into an energy bolt. "You wish. I'd rather not become acquainted with the likes of you."

"Oh, you wound me! I figured you would be more… talkative, considering how alike we actually are."

Tenebris growled. "Some things I might agree on, but don't you dare lump me with a mass murderer like YOU!"

She merely cackled. "Try telling that to all the scientists you've murdered before all this." Tenebris paused and gave her a horrified look, prompting a mad laugh out of her. "Oh? Did you really think that the memory sharing was only one way? I know your life now. You've been "abused" by scientists and forced into becoming their surgical playground. I remember what you told Frisk last time: that most of the scientists broke you out after a time. Sounds to me like you were lying to yourself that time as well."

Tenebris grimaced before looking away. "I… I didn't mean…"

Tenebris had completely paused, though Chara decided to torment him some more before killing him. "Sure you didn't "mean" it. I mean, you "did" lose control of ALL that magic that was forced into you, yet you never once tried to regain control of yourself during that time. It was only AFTER a scientist called you a Grim Reaper and AFTER your massacre that you tried to regain control. Your parents' deaths were just the icing on the cake of your depression. You're lucky little Frisk didn't get in on that information, else she would actually hate you."

She started laughing again until Tenebris cut her off. "I guess you're right… about me. It was always my belief that no matter how bad they are, nobody ever deserved to die, that everyone should at the very least get a second chance at redeeming themselves. But in my rage at being treated like a lab rat, I let my power run amok and slaughter so many people. Some were… innocent. After the carnage and my escape, I thought I could return home and… try and reforge a semblance of my normal life.

"But here I am, a dark harbinger of destruction, relating to a soulless mass murderer."

Chara giggled a bit. "Then you admit it?"

Tenebris paused for a bit before closing his eyes. "I… will admit it. But… now that I'm thinking more about it… I've realized that agonizing over it will never change anything, that regretting my mistakes won't bring anyone back." Opening his eyes, he gives Chara a determined look. "Even if what I did is unforgivable, I've acknowledged it and am willing to make amends for it. You, on the other hand, only acknowledge because such suffering brings you joy. I go back to what I've said before. On that front, you and I are nothing alike!"

Chara took a step back right as Tenebris suddenly rushed her with his weapon and started comboing her with it. After forcing him to retreat with her shockwaves, Chara shook her head. "You do realize this makes you hypocritical, right?"

"Maybe it does. But like my old man once said: "It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it"."

Tenebris suddenly started juggling her with spikes before ending off with an explosive orb to the face. Chara managed to cause a giant energy blast to erupt from the ground all around them, but Tenebris blocked it with a deflection barrier. He created another or and set it to fire scatter-shot energy bolts at her before meleeing her again, this time with shadowy claws. He ended off with one of his claws turning into a spike and launching her with it, though he discovered that she was recovering from all of the wounds he was giving her.

The pause Tenbebris gave right there allowed Chara to finally hit him. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you messed up. I'd say it was nice knowing you… but it hasn't." Tenebris merely looked at his new wound before sucker punishing her with a giant shadowy fist. She managed to stay on her feet as she skidded away. "So that's how you "survived". You did die, but you became undead and unable to feel pain."

Tenebris shook his head. "I get the feeling you already knew, but decided to wait and confirm it. Still, this technically means that neither of us can die here."

Chara let out a laugh. "I can't die. I can still kill you; all I have to do is shatter your soul and I've won. It's just a matter of exposing it from that decaying body."

Tenebris chuckled. "Good luck tearing my body apart enough to do that." With that, he suddenly grabbed her with a whip and smacked her on the ground on alternating sides before shocking and throwing her. He hit her a few more times with his scythe before letting out a sigh. "You know… I wasn't lying when I said we still shared some similarities."

Chara grinned. "Oh? Pray tell what those are."

"Well… Chara and I were both abused by our own kind; her by her village and me by scientists. I had it easier than she did, as my parents weren't as neglectful as hers. Both of us suffered at the hands of humanity… I feel as though, if we had ever met before all of this, we could have been… friends? Family?"

Chara frowned. "Stop speaking about me like I'm not here!"

Tenebris gave her a dark glare. _**"No. You aren't the REAL Chara. The real Chara would never have been this cruel or sadistic. You're just a twisted mockery of what she used to be!"**_

This clearly insulted her has she went in for a flurry of attacks. _"You dare call me FAKE?!"_

"I do. You taint the real Chara's memory and for that, I'll ERASE you from existence."

"Chara" lets out an angry grunt. "On top of that, why haven't I crushed you yet?! You and all of these monsters all scramble around, trying to play god! The reality is, there's only one person in the world fitting such a role!" She suddenly caught him off guard and managed to cut up his abdomen before launching him. "Me."

She slowly approached, thinking she won, when Tenebris suddenly said, "I don't know, "Chara". Playing god can't be that hard. I mean, sure, I could be cheating considering I've got powers over darkness and whatnot.

"But, when everything's said and done, I'm not playing god. All this time…" He suddenly gained a glint in his eye. "I've been playing human."

By those words, he did something that was similar to his period of magic rampancy in the lab: he managed to "unleash" all of his magic and bring it all to bear at once. His iris' fire became a towering inferno and his sclera started pouring out a literal river of darkness. Darkness began both clinging to his body and drifting off of it like smoke.

"Chara" took a step back with a look of horror; never has she seen so much power being released all at once, in quantities that would be destructive to a normal human body and soul.

Tenebris didn't pay any mind as he began rushing her down, using multiple apparitions of shadowy fists to punish her or having waves of darkness hit her around. After a bit of that, he suddenly said, "Devour everything!" From that, an unholy screech stunned "Chara" right as what looked like a giant three-segment maw erupted from the ground around her and encircled her. All three suddenly snapped shut on her, "chewing" her five times before releasing her and retreating back underground.

Tenebris' "Unleash" had begun distorting her figure from all of the damage she was taking; she could barely stay in existence from all of the punishment. Tenebris, on the other hand, knew that by doing what his did, he doomed himself to death as, while he couldn't feel it in his body, he could feel the pain in his soul; it wasn't long before it would shatter from the over-flow of magic.

Knowing this, he quickly trapped "Chara" before summoning an altered umbra blaster, one with an unattached lower jaw and dark "machinery" rotating inside, charging. "May you never taint the real Chara's image ever again, for this… is a MERCY."

The blaster was fired, resulting in a massive beam that completely erased the now demonically howling entity from existence.

Struggling to keep his soul together from that final attack, he managed to reopen the portal back to the judgement hall. When he fell out, he was met with a cry from the now conscious Frisk, who rushed over to him. "T-Tenny! P-please tell me you're okay!"

Tenebris chuckles weakly as Sans came over, worry in his eyes. "Sorry, kid. I was… never fine… ever since I… died the first… time."

"N-no! Please, don't die on me! Not again!" Selendis could see through Frisk's eyes and was also begging for Tenebris to not die.

Tenebris lifted a hand to cup Frisk's face with a weak smile. "It's sad… I can't feel… your warmth… the warmth of your kindness…" he shook his head slightly. "I know… You'll do just… fine, kid. I know… you'll find… a… way…"

His had fell to his side as his dark purple soul emerged, shuddering violently with three massive cracks in it. Frisk let out an anguished cry as she watched as his soul split in half along the middle crack, then the two halves split in half again, before the four pieces finally crystalized and vanished.

Sans' eye sockets were dark. Tenebris had truly died this time and in front of the two people who cared most about him. Tears fell down his face, but he said nothing as he listened to Frisk's sobbing. There was a period of time before he finally decided to leave Frisk to her mourning, looking forward to when she RESET back to the beginning of everything for the first time. Not just for his brother and friends to come back to him, but for Frisk's family to come back to her.

Frisk stayed beside Tenebris' now soulless corpse, weeping with Selendis over their friend. It was the second… third time she had to watch him die. She wasn't feeling determined at all; not when everything that has happened ultimately led to his death.

"Hey." Frisk looked beside her and sees Flowey with a guilty look on his face. "I'm… probably the last person you want to see right now, huh?"

Frisk didn't say anything, only to embrace the flower much to his surprise. "F-F-Flowey. W-what s-should I d-do?!"

Flowey patted the kid's back with a leaf. "Have you already forgotten?" She looks at him with a confused look. "You do realize you have the power to RESET, don't you?"

It took a few seconds until it clicked in Frisk's mind, Selendis no longer paying attention to what was going on. "I-I can bring back both Tenny and Selly!"

"Hold on there, let me say something first!" Frisk's had was over the RESET button when she paused and looked at Flowey. "First of all, I'm sorry I egged you on like that in the beginning. I… never thought Chara would turn on me like that; I thought out friendship was stronger than that. Secondly, I wanted to speak to you about something in the last run, but that was cut off by Chara forcefully possessing you and forcing a RESET."

"Y-you were going to tell me something l-last time?"

Flowey nods. "Yeah. You seem clearly distraught over this guy's death both this and last time. I wanted to give you a hint that could, maybe, lead to his survival in the end." Seeing Frisk's full attention on him, he continues, "All I'm going to say is… go on that date with Papyrus when you get there. I'm sure you'll figure things out from there."

Frisk nodded sharply and pressed RESET right as Flowey began opening his mouth again. He suddenly found himself back in the Ruins in the room right after the room with the fallen child. He chuckles a bit. "She cut me off before I could mention anything about my memories. Guess I'll play dumb with her if that's the case."

In Home, Toriel was about to head out to her child's grave to check for fallen humans when she sees a dark purple crystal on her table. "Odd, I don't recall having that before.

Picking it up, she suddenly felt something in her mind. Fear… Loneliness… Desperation…

Flinching, she put the crystal back down, wondering if the crystal was reflecting her feelings back at her.

In Snowdin, Papyrus had just exited the door to check on his lazy brother when he saw a glinting purple crystal in the snow. "OOH, IT MUST BE THE GREAT PAPYRUS' LUCKY DAY! THIS MIGHT MAKE A NICE NECKLACE!"

Picking it up, he suddenly felt something in his mind. Sadness… Despair… Loss…

Letting out a small yelp, he almost dropped the crystal. Sighing, he went back into the house to put it in his room. "MAYBE I'LL ASK SANS ABOUT IT IF I REMEMBER TO. I… DON'T LIKE WHAT THAT CRYSTAL MADE ME FEEL…. LIKE I HAD JUST LOST SOMEONE DEAR TO ME…"

In Waterfall, Undyne was heading back to her house from a patrol when she saw a dark purple crystal glinting in the darkness. "Hmm? It's odd to find a crystal here of all places. They're usually in the darker areas of Waterfall."

Picking it up, she suddenly felt something in her mind. Rage… Hatred… Betrayal… Death…

Undyne grunted. She could tell that these were someone else's feelings, though she couldn't pinpoint who or why. "Guess I'll take this home for now and have Alphys analyze it later."

In Hotland, Alphys had just seen Mettaton off from his enhancements. When she went back into the lab, she found a crystal laying on the floor. "T-that's odd. P-perhaps someone left it behind as a p-present?"

Picking it up, she suddenly felt something in her mind. Joy… Satisfaction… Peace…

Alphys looked at the crystal. "Come to think, this is reminding me of a time I read about memory crystals. Perhaps this is a type of memory crystal, more than likely incomplete as it only recorded emotions, unless it only shows memories to a specific person. I'll have to analyze it later."


	28. Chapter 28: Third Time Through

Frisk's eyes snapped open, feeling the golden flowers she had fallen on the first time and, with every RESET, had grown accustomed to their feel. She let out a small sigh and got up as she thought back to previous "runs" that she RESET from.

First time through, she was so devastated by the loss of Tenebris' life that she forgot she could RESET and Chara took advantage of her weakness to possess her, force the RESET, and began the genocide with her body. In that run, both Tenebris AND Selendis died, though Tenebris somehow managed to get a second wind and come back with Selendis' soul in tow.

Frisk let out a small whimper as she was nearing tears; not only did she allow the monsters of the underground to die by her hands, but also the people she was closest to. She blamed herself for everything that happened and, while RESETTING technically put everything right, she had to live with the fact that she didn't try hard enough to fight back against Chara's possession. The guilt had begun crushing her; she couldn't ever forgive herself for what happened.

Right before she could start crying, she heard a soft, yet familiar, breathing noise from beside her. Looking over, she was greeted with a sight she'd never thought she'd see: Both Tenebris and Selendis were on the flower bed with her, still unconscious. This initially baffled her; for some odd reason, whatever allowed her determination to RESET chose this point as the furthest back she can go. This meant that both the older humans wouldn't be there with her until later.

At the moment, though, Frisk didn't care. The fact that she was able to see both of them alive and well was all she needed. She started shaking them. "Tenny! Selly! Please wake up!"

Selendis was the first one to wake up. "Mh… Frisk?" She suddenly embraced her sister. "Frisk! I'm so happy you're okay! When I got the distinct feeling that you went to Mt. Ebott, I thought you… I thought you…"

That took Frisk by surprise. First time around, it took the both of them a few days before they came underground. When Chara started the genocide, Frisk figured that both of them would be safe from her rampage, only to become distraught when she saw Selendis arrive far earlier than before and without Tenebris to protect her; he appeared later with Undyne and got killed for the first time there. Was Chara's RESET so forced that some of the memories leaked through?

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Frisk returned her sister's embrace. "I'm okay, Selly. I'm… just glad you're safe and sound as well. I'm sorry I worried you so much." Selendis frowned at those words. She was saying them like she saw Selendis die.

She was jarred out of that thought when Tenebris said, "Somebody catch the license plate number of that bus?" Both sisters looked at him as he sat up, looking dazed. Though she couldn't see it properly, Frisk could tell something was off about his right eye. He was also missing the eye patch covering his shadowy left eye.

Selendis let out a sigh. "I take it you got my voice message right after I left it, huh?"

"Way to leave me in the dust like that, Selendis. Guess it worked out in the end. I only have… one problem." He turns to face the sisters and both of them saw his right eye had a scar and was milky white. "Why can't I see out of my right eye? I could have sworn it was fine before jumping down that hole." The sight and those words filled Frisk with both nausea and guilt when she remembered that it was her who sliced out his eye. It didn't help her guilt when he said, "Must have had bad luck on the way down."

Selendis sighed. "I don't think you have THAT rotten of luck, plus your eye would be bleeding profusely if it hit a rock on the way down. Your eye looks like it has already healed and I don't think we were unconscious for that long."

Tenebris hummed for a bit. "Guess it's one of the mysteries of the universe now." Noticing the look on Frisk's face, he gives her a concerned look. "What's wrong, kid?"

"Ah! Uh… i-it's just… how will this affect you? What if it becomes worse than what it is now?"

Now it was Tenebris' turn to frown; he's never heard Frisk so worried before. So… guilt ridden and the look on her face wasn't helping much. Deciding he'll try and find out at a later point, he shakes his head before giving her a comforting hug. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Frisk. Cheer up! this isn't the determined kid I know and love!" He started tickling her, prompting mad giggles out of her and an amused smile out of Selendis.

Frisk was starting to feel a bit better. Last time she felt Tenebris hug her or touch her, he felt cold because he was already dead, just inhabiting his deceased body. Feeling that he was once again warm and full of life filled her with determination. "Alright, Tenny, stop! Besides, don't you think we should find a way out of here?"

"Fair enough. I just wanted to cheer you up."

Selendis frowned when she looked at Tenebris' left eye. He noticed and was about to speak when she cut him off. "If you're worried about what I think of your other eye, don't be. For some odd reason, I'm already aware and accustomed to it." Frisk averted her eyes for a second. How many memories leaked through the boundaries of the RESETS?

Tenebris frowned with a contemplative look. "Somehow I feel that's the case as well. Urgh, let's not worry about it for now when getting back home is more important." That got a nod out of the sisters.

Moving to the next room, the trio saw Flowey in the center of the room. Frisk figured Flowey would remember what he said before she RESET, but was caught off guard when he said, "Really, Chara? And you even brought "friends"? Well, do what you will. I'll be waiting for you." With that, he vanished underground.

That baffled both Frisk and Selendis for different reasons, but Tenebris was frowning again. "Chara… Chara… where have I heard that name before? I feel like I should know this person, but it just doesn't come to me."

Before Frisk could comment on his words, she was interrupted when Toriel arrived. "My goodness! Are you three alright?" The three humans looked at Toriel, the older humans and the monster felt as though they've already met. Toriel ignored it and she continued, "You must all be so lost and confused. Ah, do not be afraid, my children. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through here every day to see if anyone has fallen down. Not only are you the first humans to fall down here in a long time, but you're the first to arrive in a group."

That got a confused look from Tenebris. Just how long has it been since the last human fell down here? For that matter, how did she know they were humans if that was truly the case? He put the questions aside for later. "My name is Tenebris, Miss Toriel. The two girls are Frisk and Selendis." The two sisters nodded respectively.

"Just Toriel is fine, Tenebris, and well met all of you. Since there is no easy way out, I can take care of you. Come, I'll guide you through the catacombs." With that, she turns and leaves the room."

Selendis waited a bit before whispering, "Why does she seem so familiar to me? I swear I've never met her before."

Frisk silently gulped as Tenebris shook his head. "Just another mystery to throw onto the pile, but that same familiarity tells me she's trustworthy. Let's just follow her for now." Tenebris hung back a little to frown to himself again. It felt like there were massive, gaping holes in his memories and it was starting to get on his nerves. He liked having certainty in his memories and it wasn't coming to him this time around.

As they followed Toriel, the shadows of the Ruins loomed over them. It should have been intimidating, but the trio felt it was more comforting than scary. Frisk was filled with determination when she realized she can become so with her surroundings, rather than with Chara's determination coming from seemingly nowhere.

Climbing the stairs and into the next room, Toriel addressed them. "Welcome to your new home, innocent ones. Permit me to educate you all in the operation of the Ruins." Selendis frowned at the Ruins being called their "new home", but Tenebris was trying to hide his immense guilt and horror at being called "innocent". He wasn't innocent… not by a long shot.

Toriel missed their looks and pressed four of the six switches on the floor before pulling a lever. "The Ruins are full of puzzles, ancient fusions between diversions and keystones. One must solve them to move around, so please acquaint yourselves to the sight of them." She continues to the next room.

Selendis raised an eyebrow. "And suddenly that familiarity I've been feeling is gone. We've seen the room before, but it feels like that's the first time we've… seen this puzzle solved."

Frisk pretended to feel the same way as she shrugged. "Or perhaps we've never seen the puzzle before? It's starting to get confusing…"

Tenebris let out a sigh as he desperately tried to repress memories of his past. "Familiarity or no, I doubt Toriel has any ill intentions. Though now I'm curious as to why she mentioned "our new home" …"

"I've been wondering that too. Is there truly no way to get out?" Selendis looked at the door. "Guess we shouldn't keep Toriel waiting for too long."

Sure enough, Toriel was waiting in the next room. "Ah, are you three done discussing something?"

Frisk nodded. "Yeah. Sorry we held you up."

"It's fine, my child. Moving on, you need to trigger several switches in order to proceed. Don't worry, though, for I have labeled the ones you need to flip." This helped Tenebris fight the depression threatening to return as he rolled his eyes. She took the fun out of solving a dungeon puzzle; he wanted to know how video game adventurers felt when they had to solve a puzzle to move on.

Said "puzzle" was merely a switch, followed by a pair of switches with two of the three being marked. Frisk flipped the first one, but Tenebris went for the unmarked one. "Ah, what are you doing, Tenebris? That isn't the switch you should be pressing!"

Opting to be the rebellious one of the humans, Tenebris merely grinned at her. "Renegade for life!" He tried to pull the switch, but it was stuck, causing him to start pouting. "What? This one doesn't even- fine, be that way! It's not like I WANTED to pull you anyways!" The girls had a laugh over how pouty Tenebris sounded as he flipped the marked switch.

Toirel managed to stop giggling. "What's wrong, Tenebris? Did that stuck lever "flip your switch"?"

Selendis went from giggling to groaning as Frisk burst into more giggles and Tenebris started chuckling. "No bad puns, please!"

Tenebris elbowed her. "Come on, Selendis. I saw a smile out of you."

"I didn't mean to smile!" Everyone else started laughing as it was Selendis' turn to start pouting.

Toriel shook her head. "Don't worry, Selendis. I'll… try to limit my bad humor in your presence. Regardless, the next room awaits." As everyone entered a room with a dummy, Toriel gave the room a curious look. "Strange, I feel as though this room holds more significance and it should have."

Both Tenebris and Selendis felt the same way as Frisk connected the dots. This was more than likely where Toriel first met Selendis and Tenebris when they arrived a few days after she did. Frisk remembered something telling her that she should live with Toriel until something significant happened. She wondered if there was ever a RESET that happened that managed to wipe even her memories.

Toriel shook her head. "Regardless, there is something I should warn you about here and now. As humans living in the underground, other monsters may attack you. As such, you need to be prepared for this when the situation arises." Seeing the looks on the older humans faces, she quickly added, "Don't worry as the process is simple. Encountering monsters will draw you into what's called a "Fight". When this happens, try striking up a friendly conversation. Stall for time and I'll end the confrontation. Now try talking to the dummy."

While the whole "Fight" thing wasn't new to them and of the three humans, the older ones felt that this was the first time it was explained to them in this manner. However, Tenebris had a flat look on his face when Toriel mentioned talking to the dummy. Who, in their right mind, would talk to an inanimate object?

Frisk approached the dummy and entered said "Fight". Everyone's souls appeared despite Frisk being the one to initiate the instance, somewhat confusing Toriel. "I… suppose all three of you will be in a "Fight" at the same time. Whether it'll be convenient or inconvenient will be determined by… oh my goodness…"

She was staring at Tenebris, horrified. When the sisters turned to look, Selendis and especially Frisk were also horrified. Frisk still had her red soul of determination and Selendis with her green soul of kindness.

Tenebris' soul was still a dark purple but it was split into four segments, all of them being held together by strands of darkness, and all four segments were cracked. When Tenebris got a look at it, an incredible sense of unease filled him. He never noticed it before, but now he did feel… damaged and hollow, as well as realizing why his memories felt like gaping holes.

Tenebris suddenly heard Frisk whimper. "T-Tenny… are you o-okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'll live. Maybe this is why I earned a random scar and a blind right eye. Can the state of someone's soul affect their physical state?"

Toriel thought for a moment. "I didn't think so, but perhaps there are exceptions. Your soul does have an unnaturally high amount of magic imbued into it, so anything could be possible."

Selendis continued looking at Tenebris' soul until she firmly stated, "As soon as we get to Toriel's place, we're getting that looked at in greater detail! I don't want any one of us becoming soulless and/or dead down here."

Frisk blanched at those words, though this was missed as Tenebris held up his hands. "Alright alright, though somehow I doubt it'll be that easy to fix. For now, let's just focus on getting through the Ruins. There's still the matter of… of… where did it go?"

Everyone else looked as sure enough, the dummy was gone, having left because of the trio's aimless shenanigans. This got a rather baffled look out of everyone and made them briefly forget about Tenebris' soul, including Toriel before she said, "Let's move on to the next room!" As everyone moved on, with Toriel commenting on the next puzzle's difficulty, Tenebris started feeling a minor pain in his abdomen, like he had been slashed once but has mostly recovered, and wondered if that too was a side effect of his soul's state.

When a Froggit suddenly jumped the humans, it got a squeak of surprise from Selendis, which caught Toriel's attention. Frisk quickly complimented it and it was flattered, though Toriel glared it away before it could do anything. Selendis shuddered a bit when it reminded her of how her mother used to glare.

Toriel stopped right before what looked like a veritable field of spikes. "This is the puzzle, but…" Turning to the humans, she held out a hand. "let's all hold hands through this so that nobody takes a wrong step." Tenebris eyed the field with slight skepticism, but took her hand regardless. Selendis took his free hand, enticing a small blush from him, and Frisk took Selendis'. With that, Toriel led them through the field, with the seemingly correct path having its spikes retract when approached.

As the group of four crossed the spikes, Frisk's guilt over everything started coming back again, especially concerning Tenebris. She remembered the "first" time down in the underground, he had bemoaned his status as the universe's chew toy. He wasn't far from the mark; of the two times he's been down here before, he's died both times. Though he may not remember any of his suffering, Frisk felt it was only fair that she should spend more time with Tenebris in the near future.

Toriel commented on the puzzle being a bit too dangerous at the time before letting go of Tenebris' hand and moving on. The trio of humans let go as well, though Selendis secretly wished, for some odd reason to her, that she could hold on for a bit longer. What broke her out of that train of thought was when Toriel asked them to walk to the other end of the room without her before quickly taking off.

Tenebris let out a loud groan of irritation, clearly sick of both the literal and figurative hand-holding. "Does she not think we can handle ourselves? I sort of get it with someone as young as Frisk, but us older teenagers as well?"

Selendis hummed a bit. "Perhaps it's something to do with her past? I wouldn't be surprised if she had lost a child, or children, from carelessness or something of that nature."

"Sure, but smothering us in… affection like that is not a viable alternative. Ugh… I don't know. No offence, but the female psyche is too complicated for me to read into ninety percent of the time."

Selendis was initially and slightly offended but saw an opportunity to tease him as well. "I would ask what that has to do with this situation but... aw, what's wrong, Tenebris? Too simple minded for something as complicated as us girls?"

Frisk howled in laughter as he started sputtering, red in the face from embarrassment. "Y-y-you know t-that's not what I… oh forget it. I'm not going to even try and argue my case."

If Toriel heard that exchange, she didn't show it when the trio got to the end of the hall and she came out from behind a solitary pillar. After commenting that it was to test their independence, which earned an eye roll from Tenebris, she then requested them to wait at that location until she comes back and gave them a cell phone before leaving the room. Frisk already knew about the whole exchange, but it was new to the older humans.

A little while has passed until Tenebris huffed in irritation. "If she expects us to just sit with nothing to do for a long time, she's nuts."

Frisk gave him a curious look. "You never were that patient, were you? I find it weird how you have patience for some things, like dealing with most kids, yet have none for other things."

"Different tolerance levels I suppose. I dislike waiting around in one spot with absolutely _nothing_ to do; if I had games or anime, it would be a different story. Besides, who doesn't have the patience when dealing with an adorable little sister figure like you?"

Tenebris ruffles Frisk's hair and entices a giggle out of her and a smile out of Selendis. The exchange warmed Selendis' heart, which further steeled her resolve to find out what happened to his soul. "Still, why would Toriel ask us to wait here? It might not be to her, but most of the puzzles down here are fairly harmless by many standards."

Frisk sighed and shook her head, feigning ignorance. "I don't know. I actually have to agree with Tenny and I don't want to stay here for too long. Besides, I get the feeling that we will be waiting a LONG time for her to come back."

Selendis chewed on her cheek for a bit before sighing, wondering if some of Tenebris' impatience somehow rubbed off onto her sister. "Alright, but I doubt Toriel would be happy with this. Don't blame me if we make an enemy from this."

"Selly, don't worry about it! She doesn't seem like the kind of person to react that adversely to something like that." Frisk pats her sister on the arm reassuringly, enticing a sigh and a reluctant nod out of her.

Not even three steps into the next room, Toriel calls and asks if the three have left the room yet before explaining that there are some puzzle she has yet to explain. After she hung up, Tenebris looked at the phone with a flat look. "Toriel just so happens to call us right _then_? Either it's a massive coincidence, or just plain dumb luck." Frisk suddenly found the walls interesting, trying to hide that she knew it would happen.

Selendis sighed again. "Are you two sure you want to continue on regardless?"

Frisk turned and nodded. "I say it's just a coincidence, so I feel we should be fine."

"Alright, if you say so. Just keep my warning in mind." Tenebris shrugged in response.

There was a Froggit sitting beside a door that asked them to be merciful to a monster if they showed an unwillingness to fight. The older humans felt like they already heard that once, while it was the third time Frisk was hearing it, though the guilt of not following it the second time though started returning. After that, they found a bowl of monster candy and took one for each of them, though Tenebris gave up his to Frisk when he was told what flavor it was; he dislikes distinct, non-licorice flavors, which the sisters found rather oddly specific.

In a room with a single rock, the phone rings again. "Hello, this is Toriel. For… no reason in particular, which do the three of you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?" The older humans raised an eyebrow at that question. It was a very specific thing to ask out of the blue and they couldn't help but wonder if she was planning something. What caught them and even Frisk off guard was when she said, "Wait… don't tell me. Tenebris likes cinnamon and you girls like butterscotch?"

Frisk almost did a double take. Toriel somehow managed to remember her preference last run, so she wasn't surprised for herself despite Chara being in control last time. The fact that she also remembered her sister's and Tenebris' preferences as well actually baffled her.

Tenebris sputtered in confusion for a bit before saying, "Uh… yeah, I do like cinnamon."

Selendis shook her head in confusion. "And… you're right about me and Frisk."

That got a giggle out of Toriel. "I had a feeling. When humans fall down here, strangely I… often feel like I already know them. I'll be honest with you three, when I first saw you back at the entrance of the Ruins, I felt… like I was seeing old friends for the first time in a long while." The older humans looked at each other and Frisk, wondering if they should say they feel the same way. Toriel continued without waiting for a response, "Strange, isn't it? Well… thank you for your selections." With that, she hung up.

Tenebris let out a sigh. "Things just keep getting weirder and weirder as we progress through this place. We should not be familiar with this place, nor should we be familiar with Toriel and vice versa. It's… starting to creep me out now."

Selendis curled the corner of her mouth. "Try not to think about it too hard, okay? I'd like for us to come out of this still sane."

"That's asking for a lot, especially if the _rest_ of the underground does this to us."

Frisk tried to get their attention. "Selly! Tenny! Please don't worry about it! I'm sure we'll get through all of this just fine."

Selendis breathed a little bit before giving a small smile. "Yeah, you're right. Agonizing over it will just bring unneeded stress, so we should just be thankful that this familiarity will help us in the long run. Heck, if there are other monsters that share this familiarity, it'll make our lives much easier."

Tenebris nodded, but mentally frowned at himself. He wanted to be grateful for the familiarity and the knowledge on how to regulate his magic, but the memories he knows he's missing feel like they have a few important pieces of the puzzle. Like the reason why he, deep down, is glad Selendis is alive again and why… he was happy Frisk was "free".

And why he wanted to know and learn more about this Chara.


	29. Chapter 29: Ruin Escapades

After Toriel called the humans again almost immediately to ask if they don't dislike the other ingredient, they continued onward after pushing a rather large rock onto a switch, though Selendis had read a sign saying that "three out of four rocks recommend that you push them", confusing her greatly. Frisk already knew what the sign meant, but opted to observe how the older humans would react since they clearly haven't done that particular "puzzle" in any run before.

In the next room, Tenebris stopped dead and stared at the floor with a flat look. "The entire floor is cracked here. How do we even get past here? For that matter, how did Toriel get past here?"

Frisk pretended to look at the floor curiously while Selendis sighed with a small smirk on her face. "At least you were paying attention this time."

"Please don't remind me even though it just happened recently…" In the room before the rock, Tenebris didn't watch where he was walking and involuntarily fell through cracks in the ground. The squawk he let out when he fell made the sisters laugh, despite them worrying about whether or not he was okay.

Frisk smiled up at him. "Aw, I wanted to hear you squawk like a parrot again." He simply started grumbling under his breath at that.

Selendis rolled her eyes as she knelt down to start testing the cracks with her hands. Some sections fell away while others stayed firm. "You can worry about salvaging your dignity later, Tenebris. For now, I think some of these cracks are fake; paint on a normal floor."

Tenebris crossed his arms. "That's… actually kind of clever. The only problem is that I don't see how we're expected to tell the difference between real and fake cracks… unless they intended for us to feel our way across, but that would take forever."

Selendis let out a sigh as she got back up. "That's a fair point. Are we expected to do this by trial and- " She let out a loud squeak as Frisk suddenly and voluntarily stepped on a real crack and fell down. "FRISK!"

"I'm okay!" Came Frisk's response. "There are leaves down here to break your fall as well. Hang on, I'll come back up to you guys."

Tenebris frowned. "I swear, if the makers of this puzzle intended for us to fail at least once in order to find the solution, that's just a troll move."

Frisk suddenly called up, "I found the solution!"

"… What did I just say?" The older humans both shake their heads in distain.

Frisk climbed up another vent like Tenebris did earlier before excitedly saying, "Follow me!" She deliberately fell down to 'find' the solution partially because she knew it was down there, but to also ensure that neither of the older humans would question why she already knew the solution.

The older humans looked at each other before shrugging and following Frisk's footsteps and, sure enough, she led them on a path that didn't crumble on them. When they got to the other side, they found a room with three more rocks and another "moat" blocking their way. Two of the rocks were pushed onto switches no problem, but the third one seemed sentient and started giving the humans a hard time. Tenebris had to give it a subtle death glare in order for it to move onto the switch.

They then found a piece of cheese stuck to the table, which made Selendis raise an eyebrow. "Who would keep a piece of cheese here for so long, it would melt onto the table before growing mold?"

Frisk frowned as she never thought of it before. "Perhaps Toriel left it for the mouse in this room? It's the only thing I can think of outside of another monster putting it there because they didn't like it."

Tenebris hummed a bit. "I'm betting on the former. There's no evidence of attempted ingestion before it was stuck to the table… unless a monster can bite so cleanly it looks like a knife cut." He thought back to the monsters they've encountered thus far. Whimsuns didn't seem to have the mouth structure for it, Froggits probably don't eat cheese, and Moldsmals would probably just dissolve it entirely.

Frisk shuttered at the word "knife" while Selendis rolled her eyes in amusement. "Way to sound like an investigator there. "There's no evidence of attempted ingestion"? You could have simply said no one tried eating it before it got stuck."

"Comment on my way of saying things, why don't you… don't 'cheese' me off, Selendis!" Tenebris put his hands in his black duster's pockets with a grin while Selendis groaned before realizing one had something in it, which was a small music box that used to be his mother's. "Didn't we use this music box for your work-in-progress song?"

Selendis deadpanned. "Why do you have that in your pocket still? For that matter, why did you wear your dad's duster coat?" Frisk looked over; she was also curious as to why he brought that down.

Tenebris raised a finger to respond, but hesitated a bit before saying, "I… guess it was an on-the-spot decision when I got your message on the surface."

"Kind of a specific item to bring with you going up a mountain nobody has ever returned from."

Tenebris grunted. "I was in a hurry, okay?"

In the next room, they met a ghost named Napstablook. While Frisk remembered him and the older humans felt he was also familiar, all three couldn't help but feel sorry for the ghost at that point in time. They did manage to cheer him up before he left, even getting a small smile out of him.

Frisk quickly went through the door on their left, knowing that if Selendis saw the Spider Bake Sale, she would freak out from her arachnophobia. In that room, they found a group of rather confusing Froggits; even Frisk still couldn't figure out why they say what they say. One had said, "Press F4 for 'full screen'", prompting Tenebris to silently question it even more than usual, despite the Froggit asking if F4 meant four frogs.

At the end of the hall, Toriel called again to say she hasn't cleaned in a while because she wasn't expecting to have company over so soon. She then noted that there are things laying around that they can pick up, though she warned against carrying more than they needed in the off chance they find something they want. Tenebris was finding it increasingly difficult to not relate Toriel to a video game tu'torial' character, though he made that pun out of her name, much to Selendis' chagrin.

Selendis groaned at the next room. "Even more cracks? I know this place is called the Ruins and it should be expected, but did they really have to use pit-falls as part of most of their puzzles?"

Tenebris folded his arms. "Yeah… and normally you don't WANT to fall down holes because they typically are either death or bottomless… which is also death."

Selendis shook her head before reading the nearby sign. "Only one switch at least. Guess we'll have to figure out which one."

Frisk tugged on her sister's shirt. "Selly, don't be too grumpy over it. At least there's only six potential pit-falls here, so each of us can cover two to save on time."

Tenebris nodded wearily; he was starting to get tired of puzzles in general already and he plays video games. "I'll take the two farthest ones. Selendis, you take the two closest to the entrance we came in at and Frisk will take the middle two."

Selendis found a ribbon down the first crack and opted give it to Frisk. The next one she fell through had her encountering a Vegitoid, though she was able to spare it when she ate one of the vegetables it offered.

Frisk found Napstablook again and reminded him that he can fly before falling down the correct hole and flipping the switch. Tenebris had hole with nothing and the other had a Vegitoid, though he simply fled from it as he dislikes most vegetables. He was sorely disappointed when he found out that the sisters both found something whereas he didn't.

Selendis gave Frisk the ribbon she found and it reminded Frisk of the run when Selendis wore both the ribbon and the glasses from Waterfall and completely flustered Tenebris. It slightly frustrated her that the older humans have to re-find their feelings for each other, but she figured it was a far better alternative to Tenebris dying right as they escape the Underground.

The next four rooms frustrated Tenebris and not because they were difficult. "Did they seriously just make all of these rooms the exact same layout?! That just screams lazy design; they didn't even TRY to make anything unique about them!"

Frisk nodded slightly since the rooms always struck her as odd no matter what run she was in. Selendis raised an eyebrow. "Does this kind of thing frustrate you easily? I would think you would be a bit more… 'agreeable' to this concept."

"First of all, are you painting me as lazy?" That got a laugh out of the sisters. "Second of all, I hate it when people do it in other things as well, especially video games like RPG's. I will forever hate the trope of "Underground Monkeys" and what it stands for."

Frisk gave him an odd look as she never heard him mention that particular trope before despite visiting TV Tropes a couple of times herself. "Underground Monkeys? I've never heard of that before…"

"You take an enemy, slather it in a new color, make it stronger, and give it a new name or title. That's the trope in a nutshell."

Selendis let out a small "oh" before shaking her head. "Guess you see enough of it in your RPG's to make it a hated thing, huh?" Tenebris merely huffed in response. Frisk simply gave an amused shake of her head, wondering why he never commented on it before.

When they reached a dead-looking tree, they suddenly heard Toirel say, "Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would." She came from around the tree and called the cell phone she gave the humans, only to notice with surprise that they were right there. "How did you get here, my children?"

Tenebris shrugged. "How did we get here? By falling through cracks in order to find solutions to puzzles."

Selendis facepalmed as Toriel gasped. "Are any of you hurt?!" She observed the trio a little bit before nodding. "Despite your… unamused tone, Tenebris, none of you are hurt. I'll admit, that's pretty impressive considering most of the monsters here, save for Migosps in groups, can be pretty klutzy and can do a lot of unintentional harm." She lets out a sigh. "Regardless, I should not have left the three of you alone for so long. It was irresponsible for me to try and surprise all of you like this."

Selendis caught on quickly. "Surprise us?" Frisk kept a straight face since she knew what surprise Toriel was talking about.

Toriel quickly realized she spoke about the surprise prematurely. "Err… well, I suppose I can't hide it any longer. Come, young ones." With that she led the trio to her house and entered. The older humans felt familiar with the look of the house, yet it somehow filled Tenebris with a slight sense of loneliness and sadness. Frisk on the other hand was happy that such a cute, tidy home filled her with Determination.

When the trio entered the home, a delicious smell wafted into their noses, which Toriel noticed. "You three smell that?" She giggles. "Surprise! It is butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I thought we could celebrate your arrival here, as I want all of you to have a nice time living here. Because of that, I'll hold off on the snail pie for tonight."

Selendis' face twisted in disgust. "Snail pie? Really? No offence Toriel, but that sounds… gross to me."

Tenebris nodded. "I tried snails once while visiting France. They are definitely… an acquired taste." He suddenly smirks. "With that face and tone of voice, if you're given snails to eat, I guess you could say… you're escarGONE!"

Both Toriel and Frisk laughed at the pun, but they cut themselves short with surprised looks when Selendis said, "I don't get it."

Frisk facepalmed. "Selly, didn't you take French classes when you were younger?"

That caused Selendis to frown and think about it for a little bit. When she realized the pun, she facepalmed herself. "Oh my god, Tenebris!"

Tenebris sighs. "Kind of takes the fun out of puns when you have to explain the joke…"

Frisk elbowed him. "Don't be like that Tenny. She would of escar'got' the joke eventually!" Both Tenebris and Toriel howled in laughter as Selendis gave her sister an indignant look.

Toriel shook her head in amusement. "Hee hee… well, before we torture Selendis with anymore puns, I have another surprise for you three." She led the trio to a room. "This is it… A room for the three of you. I… wasn't expecting three humans to come down here all at once, so I hope the changes made are accommodating."

Selendis shrugged "I don't mind sharing a room with others. I've done it with Frisk for a long time." Frisk nods at that.

Tenebris shrugged. "I've… shared rooms with my parents whenever we traveled, so I'm not a stranger to it."

"Ah, I'm glad you're all okay with it." Toriel gives them a motherly smile before sniffing the air. "Is something burning? Um… make yourselves at home!" She runs off in the other direction.

Tenebris shook his head in amusement. "Shall we have a look inside?" Selendis opened the door, but he ran into the frame from his lack of depth perception from going blind in one eye, which the trio was used to; he always had problems even on the surface because he had an eye patch covering one eye.

It didn't stop it from being amusing to Selendis, who was unaware of the implications, and it sent Frisk through a massive guilt trip, since she felt responsible for somehow causing permanent blindness in the one eye from cutting it out in the last run.

The room looked like it was built and designed to be a child's room. Tenebris felt as though he had already slept here once, except that the room had a mattress on the floor big enough for one of the older humans to sleep on. Selendis gave it a once over. "I guess this is what she meant by hoping it was accommodating for us. Looks like Frisk and I are sharing a bed or mattress whenever we sleep."

Tenebris eyed the mattress on the floor before making up his mind. "You two take the bed. I should be fine with the floor mattress until we can figure something out with Toriel."

Selendis gave Tenebris a confused look. "You make it sound like we're going to be- "

"Staying down here? As much as she gets on my nerves with her overprotectiveness, I… admittedly kind of want to be with her. She's made it clear she wanted to adopt us and I want to take her up on that." The sisters look at each other and he lets out a sigh. "I'm not saying you two should have to as well. I just…"

"Tenny, it's fine. We feel the same way, it's just that we never expected you out of the three of us to proclaim that." Frisk gave him a reassuring pat on the arm before yawning. "But… I feel like we should discuss this after a proper rest. The puzzle in the Ruins might be easy, but they're still tiring."

Selendis thought about it for a bit before nodding. "Yeah, we can make a more knowledgeable decision with rest. We can ask Toriel about it afterwards as well."

Tenebris nodded, but doubted if he would be able to fall asleep at all. Even after he took off his dad's black duster to fold it up neatly before crawling under the blanket, he merely pretended to close his eyes as Selendis shut off the light and crawled into the bed before Frisk crawled in.

When he was certain the sisters were asleep, he looked around the room a little bit, attempting to account for what was in the room that he doesn't remember. The thing that caught his eye in particular was the shoe box that was filled with shoes in a disparity of sizes, signifying that they weren't the first humans to come down here like Toriel said, though he wondered if they were all children from the sizes of the shoes.

Letting out a little huff at nothing else popping out at him, Tenebris rolled over and closed his eyes, opting to pretend to sleep for a little while longer until he was certain the sisters were in deep sleep rather than regular sleep.

He was surprised when he felt his blanket start moving, though he managed to not react, but he was even more surprised when he felt someone cuddle up to him under it. He heard a small whimper and recognized it as Frisk's. Opening his good eye, Tenebris saw her curled up against his stomach with a guilt-ridden look on her face. He was uncertain as to why that was, unless she felt guilty for not only trapping him in the Underground with her but the fact that being trapped here somehow resulted in his blind eye and broken soul.

Tenebris let out a silent sigh and wrapped an arm around her protectively. He might not be able to sleep at this time, but he'd be damned if he didn't try and comfort his little sister figure.

After a little while longer and after Frisk fell asleep with a more comfortable look on her face, Toriel entered the room carrying three plates, each holding a hearty slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie. As she set the plates down, she noticed that Frisk had crawled in with Tenebris rather than Selendis, which made Toriel smile. The youngest human trusts her older, male friend as much as she trusts her older sister.

Toriel giggled quietly to herself as she left the room, not questioning why she knew Tenebris was "technically" their friend. "I guess Frisk sees Tenebris as her older brother rather than as a friend." With those quiet words, she silently prayed to the gods that she would never have to suffer another loss ever again. It would not only devastate her, but the two left behind.


	30. Chapter 30: Crystallized Regrets

Tenebris had seen Toriel enter the room and lay 3 plates of pie on the floor for the humans, though he made no move to let her know that he was still awake. He partially wished that he could get out of bed and roam a little bit, but with Frisk still attached to his stomach he knew that was impossible. Yet not even for a second did he ever curse her for it; it was clear that she cuddled up to him over her sister for a reason and he wasn't going to prematurely end it.

Some time passed as Tenebris tried, and failed, to fall asleep. While Frisk's presence was comforting, his abdomen still hurt like a recently closed wound. His blind eye didn't help his situation, but he tried to power through it all for the sake of making sure Frisk got a good sleep.

After struggling to fall asleep for what Tenebris thought was an hour or so, he noticed Selendis stirring from her own sleep. She saw Frisk cuddled in with Tenebris and raised an eyebrow at him. "Never thought I'd see the day where Frisk would sleep with someone other than me."

Tenebris gave her a pseudo-shrug. "Your guess is as good as mine as to why she chose to sleep with me. Also, Toriel left pie slices for us, so watch your step if you plan on getting up."

She noticed the pie slice closest to her as Frisk began to stir. "Thanks for the warning, but… Tenebris, did you sleep at all? You look like crap."

"Heh… guess I just couldn't sleep. Don't worry about it, though. I'm sure I'll be able to get some proper rest later." Selendis gave him an unconvinced look, but didn't press the subject further.

"W-were you unable to sleep because of me?" Tenebris looked down at the now-awake Frisk's worried face. "I… just wanted to try sleeping with you at least once, but if it means that you won't be able to- "

Tenebris put a finger against Frisk's mouth to shush her. "I just wasn't tired enough yet, okay? Besides, neither of you slept for that long either, so this isn't a proper good-night's sleep. I'll get another chance to sleep later." She gave him an unconvinced look similar to her sister's and he shook his head. "I don't care what you say, Frisk, but my lack of a nap wasn't because of you."

"He probably just had a lot on his mind." Selendis was sitting on the bed, eating her pie slice, which she loved a lot. "He did just recently find out that he suddenly has a blind eye and a damaged soul. I'm surprised that didn't keep me up, though."

Tenebris rolled his eyes as he grabbed the pie slices for him and Frisk. "Neither of you will listen to me here, but I'll say it anyways. Don't worry about it too much. I'm pretty sure we'll find a way to repair my soul no matter what we do." He took a bite of pie and almost dropped it from how good it was. "Who knew cinnamon and butterscotch made such a mean combo in a pie?"

Frisk took a bite from hers and pretended to be surprised as well. "Wow, this really is good! I've never tasted anything like it before now!" She didn't see it, but Tenebris shot her a confused look from how forced that sentence sounded.

Selendis took note of it as well, but opted to ignore it for now. "When we're done, we should go thank Toriel for the pie and let her know our decision on staying down here."

"Oh? So it's official that you want to stay with her as well, Selendis? Quite the snap decision." Tenebris had flashed a worried look for the briefest of moments, but neither of the sisters saw it. He was worried that his past might come back to torment him and even drive Toriel and the sisters away from him. He wouldn't be able to stand the loneliness.

Selendis rolled her eyes. "I think all of us know that the choice would be. I mean… not only are we somehow familiar with each other… but it just… feels nice to have a mother-figure around after tragedy stole our parents away." Frisk nodded, but wondered if someone was going to have to leave the ruins like Tenebris did the first time around.

Tenebris sighed. "I can definitely agree with that notion. Should we make our decision official with Toriel?"

"Shouldn't we start calling her 'mom' now?" Selendis asked teasingly with a mischievous look on her face.

"That… will require a bit more time…" Frisk giggled at how uncertain Tenebris sounded, though he bounced back by saying, "I should be able to at some point. After all, who doesn't love a MOMster!"

"I regret ever bringing this up!" Selendis grossed her arms indignantly as the other two laughed, though she did have a small smile tugging at her features. She realized that she wanted to hear Tenebris' puns because, to her, it signified that despite everything Tenebris was still in high spirits.

After The pie was finished, the trio exited the room and headed into what looked like a living room, where they found Toriel sitting in an easy chair reading a book. The older humans thought that the glasses she was wearing made her look quite a bit cuter than before. Hearing their approach, she looks up and smiles. "That was a short nap. Did you three sleep alright?"

Selendis sighed. "Frisk and I did, but Tenebris couldn't fall asleep. He claims he wasn't tired, but…" She shoots a look at the slight amount of baggage under his eyes.

Toriel lets out a sigh. "I see. Well, no use trying to force sleep on anyone as it might be even worse in the long run. More importantly, did you three find the surprise I left for you?"

Frisk beamed at her. "Yes and it was delicious!"

"I'm happy to hear that." She noted the looks on the faces of the older humans. "Oh? What's wrong?"

Selendis let out a small sigh. "Toriel… Would you… have us as your adopted children?" Tenebris gave her a look for wording it weirdly but she continued, "It's just that… you're the first person to try and adopt any of us ever since our parents died and…"

Frisk finished for Selendis. "We just wanted… someone to be our mom. Us and Tenebris."

Toriel sat there with a surprised look for a few moments before giving a motherly smile. "I'm honored that all of you wish to stay with me. I'll be honest, I wanted to keep you three here with me but… now I know your feelings on the matter."

Tenebris closed his eyes and quickly prayed his past doesn't rear its ugly head before smiling at her. "So you'll…"

"I'll gladly take you three in with me. I'll be even more honest; I was so glad to have someone here that I already had so many things planned out for us to do. I have many old books I want to share." Tenebris winced at that one; he never really liked reading books that much. "I want to show you my favorite bug-catching spot." Now it was Selendis' turn to panic internally; she dislikes bugs, especially arachnids. "I've also prepared a curriculum for your education."

That legitimately caught Tenebris off guard. "Wait what? You mean you have an individual curriculum for each of us?"

"That's correct, though I might need to test a little bit to see how far in your education the three of you are. This… may come as a surprise to all of you, but I always wanted to be a teacher." Noting the looks on the human's faces, she looked to the side. "Err… perhaps that isn't surprising at all."

Selendis giggled. "Well I can fill you in as to Frisk's level of education, but me and Tenebris are going to be tougher to determine. Both of us dropped out of school when our parents died, so…"

That got a concerned look out of Toriel. "I… suppose you had every right to do so. The fact that you had Frisk continuing to go to school after she recovered from the loss is very commendable. It tells me that you're a very caring older sister who wanted a better future for her younger sibling." She trailed off a bit, wondering if Chara would have ever done the same with Asriel. She quickly caught herself and put down her book. "Anyways, what would you like to do?"

Tenebris thought for a moment. "Perhaps a full tour of the house? I know it seems like a small place, but it might help us get our bearings better and, later on, figure out a more permanent sleeping arrangement." The sisters look at each other before nodding, Frisk simply playing along since she already knew the layout.

Toriel let out a giggle as she put her glasses to the side and got up. "A tour can't hurt. Come along, my children. Let's start at the opposite end of the house and work our way back." While exiting the living room, a purple glint on the table caught Frisk's eye and made a mental note to examine it later; She doesn't remember anything like that being there before.

They stopped in front of the last door in the hallway. Toriel let out another small giggle. "This is my room. It's fairly simple, but I like it that way."

"Can we go in and look around?" Frisk suddenly piped up. She already knew what was inside, but she wanted to see the reactions of the other two.

Selendis looked appalled. "Frisk! You don't just ask to enter someone's room!"

"But Selly!"

"It's quite alright." Toriel interrupted with a soft smile. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't mind showing my room to you three if you're that curious. And don't hide it, Selendis. I know you're also curious as to what my room is like." Selendis huffed with a bit with a blush but didn't say anything.

Tenebris' eye had been caught by the mirror that was to the left of the room. "I'll join you guys momentarily. There's something I want to look at quickly." The girls gave him puzzled looks, but didn't question it as they entered the room. Tenebris stood in front of the mirror, looking at his now-blind eye and saw the scar.

Remembering the slight pain in his abdomen, he lifted his purple shirt and found a much bigger scar stretching across the stomach and chest areas. He frowned when he saw it; it did not look like an injury one could live from. As he tried to think about it, the pain in the scar flared up a bit more and he winced, prompting him to lower his shirt again before heading into the room. "Just… what is happening to me?"

In Toriel's room, Selendis read a book about subterranean plants and learned about Typha, more commonly known as water sausages, and realized that they weren't dissimilar to cat tail plants on the surface. Frisk found Toriel's diary and asked her to read an entry, which turned out to be a skeleton pun that made Selendis groan and Tenebris snicker.

Tenebris took a look at the cactus plant in the corner of the room and smirked. "Ah, the cactus. Truly the most tsundere of plants."

That got a frown out of Selendis. "How is a cactus… whatever you just called it?"

"I… I… I don't know, actually. I guess… because tsundere characters are really… prickly when you first meet them, but later show they're soft on the inside? That's really all I've got." That earned a snort out of Toriel and Selendis while Frisk silently realized just how close hers and Tenebris' lines of thought were.

They passed the room that was still under renovation and Toriel mentioned that it might become where one or two of the humans might be sleeping but dodged the reason as to why it was under renovations to begin with. They also skipped the bedroom meant for the humans because they were already acquainted with it. She told the trio that the stairs lead to nothing but a dead end that has yet to find a use and asked them to not go check it out. The older humans had a nagging feeling in the backs of their heads telling them that Toriel was wrong, but ignored it.

The last place Toriel showed them in the house was the kitchen. Outside of the last piece of pie and the fact that she had a brand-name chocolate bar in her fridge, there was nothing really to note.

Back in the living room, Toriel gave another warm smile to the trio. "So how do you find the house, my children?"

Tenebris summed it up for all three of them, "Very homely. I can tell you put a lot of effort into taking care of this place… though, just as a nit-pick, perhaps consider getting something other than a bunch of water sausages as plants."

Toriel let out a small sigh, well aware that her inability to take care of plants as well as Asgore was showing. "Other plants don't seem to like me, but I'll try my best." Noticing that Frisk's attention was elsewhere she asks, "What's troubling you, Frisk?"

Frisk gave her an unsure look. "Well… I was curious about that purple glint on the table I saw earlier."

"You mean that purple crystal?" Toriel picked it up and, despite it giving her feelings of fear, loneliness, and desperation, showed it to the humans. "I suddenly found it on my table today. As such, I have no clue where it came from or what its purpose is… outside of it seemingly reflecting your darker thoughts and emotions back at you."

Frisk felt like she should recognize it; it looked like it was a piece of something based on how it had a side that looked like it used to be attached to something. Tenebris started getting a weird feeling from it while Selendis merely looked at it with uncertainty. "If all it seemingly does is reflect negativity, shouldn't you throw it away or destroy it?"

Toriel paused before shaking her head. "I don't know, but I just get the feeling that… perhaps it serves a better purpose than just that. Besides, it wasn't glowing this brightly when I first saw it."

Tenebris hesitated before asking, "Could I… see it for a second?" Toriel complied and, trying to ignore the fear, loneliness, and desperation it was shooting at him, he gave it a slightly closer look. "Looks almost like a piece of heart." The girls, now looking more at him, saw that his eye was glowing the same amount of brightness as the crystal. Selendis was about to say something when the crystal suddenly flashed once before promptly shattering.

In that moment, Tenebris felt memories of him falling down the hole at Mt. Ebott, entering and running through the Ruins alone while desperately trying to find the girls. He remembered the various dust piles that littered the path, with the memory going as far as the dust pile that buried clothes and a door that leads to a snowy area. Disconnected from that, he somehow remembered how to use barriers and magic bolts

From how sudden the wave of memories was, he let out a startled cry and fell backwards onto the floor, which got a horrified look from Toriel. "My child! Please tell me you are okay!"

Selendis panicked over Tenebris as Frisk realized what that crystal was based on his physical description of it and what just happened. What nobody but her saw was when his soul emerged without even entering a "Fight". The same light that burst from the crystal congregated on his soul, which had the effect of making one segment no longer cracked.

Tenebris falling over the way he did made Selendis give a worried look; Tenebris had a look of fear on his face. "Tenebris, are you alright?"

"Y-yeah. Just… the crystal bursting caught me massively off guard. I… didn't mean to do that." He seemed pretty shaken.

Toriel shook her head, close to tears. "I'm so sorry, my child! I-I never meant to scare you like that. Perhaps Selendis was right, I should have destroyed it, yet I didn't and now you're paying the price for my curiosity."

"No, it was a good thing he got that crystal." Everyone looked at Frisk oddly, prompting a confused look out of her. "Wait, none of you saw it? That crystal helped repair Tenny's soul!"

Toriel paused before forcing the area into a "Fight". Sure enough, everyone saw that a segment of Tenebris' soul, while still separated from the other three segments, was now as flawless as the other human souls.

This prompted a frown from Selendis. "So when Tenebris fell into the Underground, his soul somehow got fragmented, which made crystals appear and scattered them god knows where down here? Something doesn't seem right with this situation."

Tenebris let out a small chuckle. "Easy goes for me, so I'm not complaining. Still, since none of us saw any other crystals like that in the Ruins, that means the other pieces are scattered throughout the Underground."

Toriel thought for a moment before nodding. "I'll ask another monster to look throughout the Underground for the other fragments. There is a way to exit and re-enter the Ruins, but only monsters that can fly are able to do it." Tenebris instantly knew she was lying, since there was another exit from the Ruins down the stairs, but didn't say anything as she left to find someone. He still wanted to stay with his new mom, bit was beginning to feel doubt over if he could or should.

What bothered him the most was the fact that the crystal made him remember himself going through the Ruins searching for the sisters. The fact that it was vivid enough to be true both disturbed and confused him. How was it that he came through here once before already without the sisters?

Frisk saw the look Tenebris had on his face and immediately began to worry again. It looked like more than just his soul got repaired when the crystal shattered in his hand. She knew what that crystal was: crystalized fragments of Tenebris' soul from after he died dealing with Chara. What worried her the most was how his fragmented soul carried like that over past the RESET, making his soul look the way it is now on top of scattering the crystalized fragments across the Underground. She had no doubt that Toriel would send someone to find the fragments, but knew that, sooner or later, one of the humans was going to want to leave the Ruins.

Selendis, on the other hand, was grateful that fixing Tenebris' soul was a bit easier than she initially expected. However, she knew something else was wrong based on the look he has right now. It's like he just recently remembered something and is equal parts disturbed and confused over it.

Toriel came back into the house, interrupting everyone's thoughts. "I managed to ask a Whimsun to ask around for help in the capital. Hopefully we'll hear back about the other three shards, assuming there's a crystal for each segment of Tenebris' soul."

Selendis was silent for a moment before sighing. "Guess all we can do is hope for the best. Hopefully that first crystal stabilized his soul enough."

* * *

When the humans went to bed, Frisk had decided to stay at her sister's side, thinking that if she tried sleeping with Tenebris, it'll rob him of more sleep. But while Tenebris was finally able to fall asleep, he instantly regretted it.

A lab rife with fire. Scientists, both guilty and innocent, running, screaming for their lives as they tried to escape. Then there was him, a human cloaked in dark energy on a murderous rampage.

" _A monster! Everyone, a monster is loose! Run for it!"_

Tenebris flinched as he felt his body move without input. "N-no… I'm not a monster…"

Right after saying that, dark tendrils suddenly erupted from his body and skewered a scientist in every direction. When the body collapsed in a bloody mess, another one was standing there looking horrified. _"I-it can't be. Is this… what we've created? Now... the Grim Reaper comes for us…"_

"I… I didn't mean to… to…" Once again, he watched helplessly as he skewered that scientist as well. "No… stop it… I don't want to… I don't want to do this, please!" The screaming only intensified as he continued slaughtering innocent people, deepening his own pain and despair.

Suddenly two ghastly figures appeared before him in the lab's raging inferno, speaking with his parent's voices. _"Is this what we've been raising all this time?_ _ **A monstrous, psychopathic murderer?!**_ _"_

Tenebris started holding his head, finally in control of his body. "N-no! I didn't mean to! I-I only w-wanted- "

" _HAH! That's what they all say. Stop lying to us. You also murdered us, you know? Murdered us with broken hearts! If this is who you are…_ _ **you should of never been born!**_ _Why did we even try to raise you?"_

Another bunch of shadowy figures appeared, one with a glowing blue eye, and they all started speaking in voices that sounded familiar, but hurtful none-the-less, one of which was Toriel's. _"To think I was worried you wouldn't fit out there... Eheheheh! You really are no different than them… than Asgore!"_

" _I BELIEVED IN YOU… AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS?! I NO LONGER BELIEVE IN YOU, HEARTLESS BEAST!"_

" _You know what would be better for everyone? IF YOU WERE DEAD, YOU HEARTLESS MURDERER!"_

" _So… you're the one who killed all my friends? Well, I just came here to tell you… I hate you."_

" _Kids like you…_ _ **should be burning in hell!**_ _"_

Two more shadows appeared and morphed into the two people he knew would be betrayed: Selendis and Frisk. Frisk had a hurt look of betrayal. _"You… killed innocent people?! I… I hate you! I HATE YOU!"_

Selendis gave him a disgusted look. _"I refuse to associate with you anymore. I don't CARE that you have a crush on me; no killer is going to win my heart. Why don't you just lay down and die like the abomination you are."_

Tenebris fell onto his knees and started clutching his head, tears streaming down his face, begging for the voices to stop. The next time he looked up, all he saw was a pair of red eyes and a sadistic smile. _"Face it. You would kill anyone who looks at you funny if you thought you could get away with it. Keep trying to tell yourself that you "didn't mean it" or that you "couldn't control" yourself. In the end, you're just like me… my genocidal friend._ _ **You made your choice long ago**_ _!"_ A knife suddenly sliced his front open, covering the entire area in blood and red nines.

He suddenly woke with a start, tears streaming down his face still. Realizing where he was, he painfully forced down sobs as he attempted to dry his face with his sleeve. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't stop the screams of the dying in his head.

As he got off the mattress without waking up the sisters, he came to a conclusion that utterly broke his heart. He couldn't stay with Toriel or the sisters. He didn't deserve to be under the same roof as them, not as a murderer.

Who, in their right mind, would want to live with a murderer? He suddenly no longer cared if he was all alone if it meant the sisters no longer had to associate with a killer. He knew that tainting them with his blood-stained hands was worse than a life of loneliness.

Leaving the room quietly, he opted to simply go into the rest of the Underground and find the other three crystals by himself. As much as he felt like he deserved to have a shattered soul, he knew that he wouldn't be able to rest until it was repaired.

Toriel looked at a puffy-eyed Tenebris and let out a small gasp. "My child, did you have a nightmare?"

Tenebris let in a very shaky breath. "T-that's not important. C-could you tell me about another way to exit the Ruins?"

Toriel got an odd sense of déjà vu, but ignored it as she sighed. "Please wait here, I need to do something." Putting down her book, she rushes off towards the stairs.

Tenebris warily followed her and as he did, he learned about the fate of the other human children who fell into the Underground before being told that Asgore would kill him. That only strengthened his resolve to leave; it's only fitting that one murderer gets killed by another.

Before a door, Toriel let out a sigh. "You want to leave so badly, even though you wanted me to be your mother?"

Tenebris let in a shaky breath. "Since when did I… deserve you as my mother?"

That comment threw Toriel off guard, but she resigned herself. "There's only one solution to this. Prove yourself… prove that you can survive beyond this door." She forced the area into a "Fight", but winced at the notion of having to attack a fractured soul.

Tenebris was about to say something when one of the memories the crystal gave him suddenly flashed in his mind. In front of this very doorway, there was a pile of dust with clothes buried in it. Toriel's clothes.

Tenebris grew even paler than before. He somehow saw what was essentially her corpse and wondered if he somehow killed her once before. Toriel took notice of his new look and said, "Wait… why are you looking at me like that? Like you've seen a ghost. Do you know something I don't? No… that is impossible." With that, she started summoning up fire balls, ready to fight.

Tenebris took a few steps backwards, pure fear on his face. Toriel couldn't tell if he wanted to run away or not, so she threw a few fire balls his way to make him make up his mind. What surprised her immensely was when he countered by summoning shadowy bolts, though only enough to cancel out her fire.

Tenebris was having a mental break-down as the fight went on. He didn't want to kill Toriel. He didn't want to kill anyone more. In a desperate act, he cried out, "Please just let me though!"

Toriel stiffened up. "Why are you so desperate to leave? Like I said before, did you not want me as your mother? Did you not want to live with those two sisters?"

"B-because… I… I don't deserve them or you!"

Toriel gave him a confused look. "What do you mean? You were just fine with them before you went to sleep. What made you suddenly feel that way, your nightmare? If so, you shouldn't let something like that get you down, my child."

"N-no, i-it's not just that!" Realizing she wasn't going to relent, he gritted his teeth painfully. "I'M A MURDERER!" Toriel simply stood there shocked as Tenebris started looking at the ground, eye flared up and tears streaming down his face once again. "My hands are stained with blood. I… don't want to taint you or the sisters… I don't deserve any one of you…"

Toriel began to wonder if Asgore felt the same way as Tenebris did and if he had many sleepless nights because of he has done. Refocusing on Tenebris, Toriel calmly asks, "Is… that the reason why you want to leave? Because you're afraid of "tainting" us or worse?"

"I-if I w-were to stay with any of you… I-I might kill you!" Tenebris suddenly collapsed onto his knees, sobbing. "I… don't want to hurt you… hurt anyone…"

"But… if you were trying to leave…" Toriel sighed. "Don't tell me you were planning on throwing your life away, were you? What good would that do for anyone, especially for the sisters?"

"B-but… someone who has taken lives should have his life taken away as well… right?"

Toriel was about to answer when Frisk suddenly said, "Wh-what do you mean by that, Tenny?"

Frisk had woken up prematurely again when a voice, Asgore's voice, told her that she was the future of monsters and humans. She had realized that Tenebris was gone and, when she went to the living room, so was Toriel. She had come to their "Fight" area right when Tenebris admitted to being a murderer, which shocked her.

But when Tenebris went on about why he didn't deserve to be with anyone, she became determined to try and convince him otherwise. "Why are you saying things like that?"

When Tenebris saw her standing right behind him, he had paused until he let out a sad laugh which caught both girls off guard, tears still falling. "You… heard all that? I… never thought..." He laughed a little more as he fully sat down. "Fine… go ahead… tell me how much you _**HATE**_ me."

That caught Frisk off guard but she persevered. "Tenny, I don't hate you at all, and neither would Selendis!"

"Liar…" Tenebris began gritting his teeth. "Do you realize just how many innocents I've killed? How many have died because I was cursed with this power?"

"I don't care!" Tenebris looked back up at Frisk in surprise just before she tackled him in a hug. "I don't care about any of that! I just want the Tenebris I know and love! Where's the bad pun loving, good natured big brother that I love?!"

"Frisk, you do realize that it's just a mask I've been wearing the entire time you've known me, right?"

"No it isn't! I could tell what kind person you were when I first met you all that time ago." She gives him a saddened look. "Please stop thinking like this. We care about you too much to just cast you aside for something you clearly never meant to do!"

"And I agree…" Tenebris saw Selendis standing at the entrance to the room, who had come looking for Frisk when she vanished from the room. "Perhaps there are those who could never forgive such a crime. But… throwing your life away isn't the answer, Tenebris. Please…" She suddenly hugged both him and Frisk at the same time.

Tenebris stayed silent for a few moments before shaking his head slightly. "You two… are too good to me."

"And perhaps you should cherish them like that." Toriel suddenly spoke up in a motherly tone. "Worrying or saddening your friends and family like this is arguably just as bad as anything you may have done in the past. Stop attempting to throw your life away when there's people who care about you."

Tenebris closed his eyes. "I… no, you're right. I'm sorry… for everything I've put you girls through as of late."

"Maybe you should be." Selendis gives Tenebris a small smack on the head. "Keeping all of your heaviest burdens to yourself. Didn't I ever tell you that we can help you shoulder those burdens? You shouldn't have to do everything yourself." Tenebris sighs before giving her a small smile as Frisk snuggled her head against his chest.

Toriel's heart warmed at the siblings reconciling, though the prior situation gave her much food for thought. When they were done, Toriel got their attention. "As you know, Tenebris wanted to go past here into the rest of the Underground for… reasons. I've given it some thought and I've decided that, if you wish, all of you can head through here."

That caught everyone off guard, though Frisk piped up first. "Why are you letting us go through when you previously wanted us to stay here?" She knew the answer already and was asking for the older humans.

"Well… all of the other children who came through here… more than likely died trying to go back to the surface. That was why I was trying to keep you here, but now I understand that keeping you here is no better. Since Tenebris does know some magic, I think you'll be safe to explore the Underground. On top of that… well the exit is one way, but I think I might join you at a later point in time."

That caught Frisk off guard as Selendis smiled. "You mean you might join us?"

"Indeed, my child. However, there are some things I wish to… sort out before I also leave the Ruins. That may take a while for me to do, so I'd recommend going on ahead of me. Prepare as best as you can; you're going to a cold area past here, so dress warmly."

Tenebris nodded. "Thank you, Toriel… or should I say mom?" Everyone shared a small laugh over that.

Toriel went on back to the house first. She had begun to feel like a fool over ditching Asgore the way she did. While he was cowardly in how he handled the situation after Chara and Asriel died, she wasn't any better for abandoning him in the first place, especially if he was having the same regrets Tenebris was. She silently prayed for her deceased children to forgive their foolish mother as she headed up the stairs.

When the trio of humans started heading back to the house to prepare for the journey, with Selendis supporting Tenebris, Frisk hung back a little before whispering to herself, "You say your hands are stained… it's not like mine are any cleaner…"


	31. Chapter 31: Retreading Tragety

While this may be already obvious, I'm not going to be going over the journey in as much detail as I did before. This is largely because, outside of some altered dialog, it is largely the same as the neutral section of the story and, as such, it will be assumed that most events will play out like they did then.

* * *

The trio of humans went back to the room they were previously sleeping in to prepare for the journey into the cold that Toriel warned them about. Even though the sisters proved him and his nightmares wrong, Tenebris continued to carry a heavy heart. They may have forgiven him, but he will never forgive himself. Little did he know, Frisk carried the same heavy heart he had over the guilt of murdering almost every single monster in the Underground in a previous timeline.

When they reached the room, Tenebris opted to continue wearing his father's black duster coat, though he wrapped his mother's music box in a scrap cloth he managed to find in order to protect it. Frisk found an orange jacket that fit her perfectly.

Selendis managed to find a blue coat that complimented the dark yellow shirt and grey skirt she had on. When she mentioned the skirt, Frisk shot her sister an uncertain look. "Will your legs be okay in the cold, Selly?"

Selendis hummed a bit. "I'm used to my legs being cold in… well, cold weather so I'll be fine. Besides, the skirt's fairly long, about a C rank on that Zettai Ryouiki chart Tenebris once showed me, and I doubt there would be any bottoms here that would fit me; I was lucky enough to find this coat."

Tenebris let out a small sigh, still not in the mood for joking. "I hope you'll be fine. Who knows how long we'll have to spend in the cold."

"I wouldn't think too long, but I thank you two for the concern. I'll be fine, though." Frisk and Tenebris share worried looks, but didn't press the subject any further.

When the trio were squared away, they went through the door that was in front of them when Tenebris confessed being a murderer. After traveling through a long hallway, the came across a small patch of grass that had nothing on it.

This immediately tipped Frisk off that something was up. First time through here, Flowey was here to mock them for not killing a single monster. Second time through when Chara was in control, Flowey recognized her as such and declared that the two of them were going to destroy everything in the world. Third time through and he's absent, making Frisk wonder if something else has changed in this RESET than previous ones.

It didn't take long for the cold that Toriel warned them about to hit them as soon as they exited the Ruins. Only Frisk realized it, but thanks to them properly preparing for the cold, they didn't fare as badly as before. Tenebris noted that the memories from the crystal ended right at the door and began wondering if they were actually someone else's memories that somehow wound up inside of the crystals conveniently meant for repairing his soul.

As they walked onward, the large stick they passed brock, startling everyone including Frisk; despite it happening for the third time, she will never get used to it. When they reached a bridge, they heard someone approaching from behind, making them freeze.

"Humans." That's all Sans got out before Frisk slowly turned around, much to the confusion and dismay of the older humans. The tension dissipated almost instantly when the whoopee cushion went off in Frisk's hand. Frisk laughed, thankful she was able to this time, unlike last time when Chara was controlling her body. Tenebris was able to forget his sins and laugh as well, regaining some of his jolly nature back, whereas Selendis was glad it brought everyone out of their ruts from earlier.

"heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick… wait a sec, have you heard it before or something, kid?" Sans still remembered little tidbits about the other two timelines that were recently RESET, though it slightly frustrated him that he kept forgetting the kid's name. "you turned around before i said to… weird…"

The older humans once again shot Frisk confused looks, who merely shrugged. "I may have. Mostly just the fact that I turn around when someone starts talking to me." Selendis frowned since she's never heard her sister do something like that.

Sans shrugged. "whatever… anyways, you're humans, right?" The older humans shot worried looks at each other this time; Toriel mentioned once that humans haven't fallen down in a long time, yet this skeleton was able to identify them. "i'm sans. sans the skeleton. as you can probably tell, i'm supposed to be on watch for humans right now." Frisk noted that his word choice was different from the first timeline, with the second one being an obvious change due to her… less than friendly reception.

Selendis frowned, however. "You know… I somehow get a distant feeling that you've said this once before, even though we've just met."

That made Sans raise a boney eyebrow. Perhaps the older humans have some leaked memories from the RESET's, hence the familiarity. "oh? that's interesting. perhaps i need not mention the fact that my brother, papyrus, is a human-hunting FANATIC?" Tenebris let out a small grunt, which brought Sans' attention to him. He just noticed the blind eye the male human had; the same eye that was sliced out before he was killed. It made the skeleton worry a little bit.

Sans managed to get the humans across the bridge and into hiding before Papyrus came along and bantered with his brother. Frisk heard Tenebris slip in a few, quiet puns himself during the exchange, giving her hope that he's back to his normal self, though it did almost tip Papyrus off to their presence.

On the other hand, Tenebris recognized both Papyrus' and Sans' voices from his dream, where Papyrus was saying he didn't believe in him anymore and Sans was telling him to burn in hell, making him worry that they might have that same response if they ever found out.

After Papyrus was gone and Sans sent the trio on their way with his request, they re-found the gloves in the dimensional box, which went to Frisk despite her having bad memories with murdering monsters with it. The difference between the first time and now was the fact that Tenebris didn't have to worry about the cold because of his duster.

What threw Frisk off was when they re-met Papyrus and, after the spinning thing, said, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT… A BUNCH OF HUMANS?! AND THEY LOOK SO FAMILIAR!" During the second run, Papyrus never acknowledged that she was a human until Sans told him straight out, even when she didn't hide behind the lamp. The fact that Papyrus seemed familiar with the trio worried her a little bit.

Sans let out a small snicker. "uh… i think they look familiar… because… they're a bunch of rocks?" Once again Papyrus buys it and Sans directly points out the humans, making the tall skeleton go into his spiel about becoming a royal guard and popular before leaving.

After that, the humans come across Doggo again and managed to get him to retreat by petting him. Sans reminded humans of Papyrus' blue attack, though Frisk knew that it was a different kind of blue attack. Another thing Frisk noticed was that monsters outside of the royal guard dogs were much more reluctant to actually attack the trio, more than likely because of how damaged Tenebris' soul was.

When they reached the invisible electric maze, Papyrus startled the trio a bit more. "REALLY THOUGH, THOSE HUMANS! DO I SOMEHOW KNOW THEM FROM SOMEWHERE?"

Sans did his best to keep his cool because he remembered. "uh… do you not know who you know?"

That made Papyrus sputter a lot from the word-play. "OF COURSE I KNOW WHO I KNOW! I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW OR KNEW. I KNOW WHO I KNOW AS MUCH AS I KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW… YOU KNOW?" He turns and notices the trio. "OH-HO, SPEAKING OF THE DEVILS!"

Selendis had started holding her head. "Please, no more confusing word-play. Too many knows!"

Tenebris nodded, feeling a bit dizzy. "I… I'm pretty sure you guys… um… have a good idea of what you're talking about, but please let us know where you wind up next time." Frisk had to force down the maddening urge to laugh at the older humans.

Papyrus looks to the side awkwardly. "APOLOGIES, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CONFOUND YOU IN THAT SORT OF WAY! BECAUSE, IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES… NONE OF WHICH INVOLVES COMPLICATED WORD-PLAY, I ASSURE YOU!"

After more hijinks with the electric maze, getting some nice cream, and playing the little snow golf game, they come across Sans' "puzzle; the word search that Frisk never got around to doing in the first timeline.

Tenebris went to pick it up this time, but because of his lack of depth perception from having a blind eye, he missed it entirely and got a hand-full of snow, which gained worried looks from everyone present. The fact that he had to focus on the paper in order to pick it up didn't help. "SHADOW-EYED HUMAN, WHAT IS THE MATTER? YOU SEEMED TO HAVE DIFFICULTY PICKING UP THE WORD SEARCH…"

Sans spoke up before anybody else. "i think he's blind in one eye, bro. it… kinda hurts your depth perception in many cases."

Tenebris let out a small sigh. "I'll be okay, Papyrus, so no need to apologize for something out of your control." Papyrus gave him a very worried look up until he said, "It was very 'perceptive' of Sans to notice that!"

"I WASN'T GOING TO APOLOGIZE ANYWAYS!" Papyrus outbursted before running away undignified, leaving a facepalming Selendis with a laughing Frisk, Tenebris, and Sans.

They had another run-in with the Dogi and spared them the same way as before; rolling around in the dirt, having them re-sniff the humans, and the petting both of them. They did the same thing as the first timeline; they pet the older humans in thanks before running off, causing some embarrassment between the two. This time, Frisk was a lot more aware of why they were blushing, once again wishing for the two to find their way to each other without need of external guidance.

After solving the puzzle that Papyrus claims is the same shape as his head, Sans decided to troll the kid a little bit after she got it right on the first try. "hey kid, you must be better at puzzles than your siblings, huh?" He didn't realize it, but Selendis started blushing a little bit when he called Tenebris Frisk's sibling. "i mean… it's impossible for you to have seen this one before." That made the older humans frown a little; the puzzle seemed pretty familiar for it being the first time they've ever seen it, similar to all previous instances. Frisk awkwardly looked to the side as she nervously sweated a little.

The tile puzzle once again failed Papyrus, though it reminded Frisk of the one Mettaton would throw at them in Hotland and attempted to remember the solution. Tenebris once again spared the Greater Dog by giving it love and attention, though this time it was Selendis who was slightly jealous of the dog, much to Frisk's amusement. And, just like the previous timelines, Papyrus decided not to use the "Gauntlet of Deadly Terror" on the humans, though this time Tenebris didn't ask Sans about the training. From afar, Flowey observed the humans, hoping that Frisk would take his advice.

Since Tenebris didn't go with Sans to Grillby's to discuss the training, the trio were able to explore Snowdin together, rather than just Selendis and Frisk the first time around. After buying a manly bandanna and making Tenebris wear it, they decided that there wasn't much to do in Snowdin besides continue on.

Of course, in the area with the icy fog, the group found Papyrus again. "HUMANS." He was being strangely formal, which completely threw Frisk off. First time through, he had mentioned training Tenebris before remembering his wish to become a royal guard before engaging them. When she was possessed by Chara, he tried to get her to stop by believing in her and the fact that she could still be a good person, right to the bitter end.

Of course, Selendis tried to do the same thing right after Papyrus died, only to be cut down as well. Frisk fought back tears as she remembered how she cried at Chara to stop. She started trembling slightly, which Tenebris noticed and recognized it not being from the cold.

Papyrus, since he couldn't see her properly, kept going. "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE… THE JOY OF FINDING FELLOW PASTA LOVERS. THE ADMARATION FOR THE PUZZLE SOLVING SKILLS OF OTHERS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A GROUP OF COOL, SMART PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE ALSO COOL.

"THESE FEELINGS… THEY MUST BE WHAT THE THREE OF YOU ARE FEELING NOW!" Tenebris bit back a snort as Selendis gives him a dumbfounded look from the fake-out. "AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. TO THAT… I PITY YOU, HUMANS. THOUGH THE THREE OF YOU HAVE EACH OTHER, YOU'RE STILL LONELY DOWN HERE. WELL, WORRY NOT! NONE OF YOU SHALL BE THAT LONELY ANYMORE FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR… YOUR…"

Frisk had an idea of what was coming next, but still asked, "Our what?"

Papyrus' breathing became a little funny before turning around. "NO… NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE FRIENDS WITH ANY OF YOU! YOU ARE HUMANS THAT I MUST CAPTURE IN ORDER TO FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS, THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!"

The humans entered a battle with the humans as expected. While the older humans really didn't want to cause harm to a skeleton that is as innocent as him, Frisk was having an internal panic attack. Despite knowing it wouldn't work, she tried to flirt with him, if only to make herself feel better. This immediately made Selendis facepalm. "Frisk… really right now?"

Papyrus looked taken aback. "WHAT!? FL-FLIRTING?! SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS FOR ME, HUMAN FRISK! BY EXTENSION, THEY ALSO EXIST WITHIN SELENDIS AND TENEBRIS AS WELL!"

Tenebris frowned at how familiar it sounded, but shook his head. "How does that make any sense? Does he think that we influenced Frisk to flirt with him?"

Selendis sighed. "I hope not, but I doubt he'll see otherwise, so I guess we should just play along with it."

Papyrus clearly didn't hear the humans talking as he nervously cleared his throat. "W-WELL, I'M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!"

Selendis, remembering his obsession with spaghetti, nervously clapped her hands together and said, "I can make spaghetti!"

"OH NO! SELENDIS, YOU'RE MEETING ALL MY STANDARDS!" Selendis recoiled at that working, though Frisk shook her head in amusement.

Tenebris though about what could appeal to Papyrus, only to come up with nothing redeeming about him, especially because of how he murdered people. He opened his mouth to speak but Frisk, seeing the look on his face, immediately said, "Tenny, you can also cook spaghetti!"

He did a double take. "Wait, what?! Frisk, you know full well I can't cook spaghetti. Need I remind you my train-wreak of a first attempt?" Selendis let out a loud groaned the memory and Frisk blanched a little; she did forget about it in her attempt to stop Tenebris from speaking down about himself.

Despite this, Papyrus gasped. "IF YOU EVEN ATTEMPTED TO MAKE SPAGHETTI… THEN YOU ALSO MEET ALL MY STANDARDS!" All this earned him was a couple of flat looks from the older humans while Frisk quietly celebrated her small victory.

Outside of her trying to make Tenebris not put himself down, Frisk noticed that the battle largely went the same as last time, though Tenebris noticeably received damage when Papyrus attempted to turn his damaged soul blue. It was then that Papyrus took notice of the shattered soul and, realizing that Tenebris was in a bad situation, decided to use his special attack and his "ABSOLUETLY NORMAL ATTACK" sooner, resulting in a much shorter fight than the first time.

After reassuring the skeleton after the battle, getting the directions, and getting told that he'll be waiting at home being a cool friend. When he left and the older humans decided to take up his offer later, Frisk got their attention. "I think we should go on that date now, otherwise we'll never go on it!"

Selendis gave Frisk a baffled look. She knew her kid sister was insistent on things, but her tone caught the older humans off guard. "Are you serious? I know you flirted with him in an attempt to get him to relent, but there's no need to follow up on it!"

"I want to get to know him better. Otherwise, what kind of friends would we be?"

Tenebris wanted to retort, but knew Frisk had a point. "Alright, we'll humor him a while longer. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to do this…"

Turning back to Snowdin, they found Papyrus standing in front of his house. "SO ALL OF YOU CAME BACK TO HAVE A DATE WITH ME! I… GET THE FEELING THAT A DATE SHOULD ONLY BE BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE, BUT I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD WORRY ABOUT THAT FOR NOW!" The older humans shared a look; they never thought about the fact that dates were between two people. Papyrus continued in spite of the looks. "REGARDLESS, I JUST HAVE TO TAKE YOU THREE SOMEPLACE SPECIAL…"

He beckons the humans to follow him before taking off… only to loop back around and stop in front of his house again, making Selendis wonder what the point of that was. "MY HOUSE!" He quickly enters, though he noticeably left the door partially open for the trio.

The house had a quaint feel to it. It wasn't as homely as Toriel's home, but it seemed like a house that would be owned by a pair of brothers. The trio toured the house under Papyrus' guidance, although Frisk still remembers it all, and even had incidental music courtesy of Sans.

After a bit, they moved to Papyrus' room, where he clapped his hands nervously. "SO, UH… WHILE I DID SAY WE COULD DO WHATEVER IT IS THAT PEOPLE DO WHILE DATING… WE STILL HAVE A BIT OF A CONUNDRUM HERE. WHILE I KNOW IT WAS FRISK WHO FLIRTED WITH ME, I CAN STILL TELL SHE'S TOO YOUNG TO DATE ME RIGHT NOW." Frisk nodded calmly, knowing that her age would be a problem. "UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BE TREATED LIKE A PLAY DATE!"

Selendis snorted in amusement. "A play date, huh? I can live with that." Tenebris shrugged, but didn't comment.

Papyrus grinned wider. "EXCELLENT! IN FACT, WE COULD MAKE IT A DOUBLE PLAY DATE!"

This threw Tenebris for a loop. "Wait, a double play date?"

"EXACTLY! FRISK AND I WILL DATE EACH OTHER, WHILE YOU AND SELENDIS DATE EACH OTHER! THE PERFECT SET-UP!"

Frisk was trying her hardest not to laugh at the older humans, who had become beet red at the notion of dating each other, despite it being played off as a "play date". She decided to tease them with it. "Aw, come on you two! What's wrong with a double play date?"

Papyrus nodded, confused over their embarrassment and unknowingly about to add fuel to the fire. "YEAH, IT THE BEST WAY TO DO THINGS SINCE YOU TWO SEEM LIKE A PERFECT MATCH!"

Selendis looked away with both her hands over her mouth while Tenebris stuttered, "Th-th-that's n-not h-how things g-go!"

Frisk was about to say something when Papyrus cut her off with a sigh. "I SUPPOSE IF NEITHER OF YOU WANT TO HAVE A PLAY DATE, THEN FRISK AND I WILL DO JUST FINE BY OURSELVES. OH WELL… I GUESS THAT MEANS THE BOTH OF US MUST WORK EXTRA HARD TO MAKE THIS PLAY DATE A SUCCESS!" Frisk rolled her eyes in amusement, but nodded as well. At least this confirms that their feelings for each other are still there.

As the "play date" went on, the older humans recovered from the embarrassment that Papyrus put them through and were even amused at some of the things the skeleton and child did during that time. What amused Tenebris the most was Papyrus' comment on "caressing his bicep" before claiming everyone would if they could.

At the end of it, Papyrus clapped his hands together with clear joy. "WELL, THAT WAS FUN! PERHAPS A REAL DATE WILL BE MUCH FUNNER, BUT FOR NOW THIS WILL DO!" Frisk shot a look at the older humans with a cheeky grin, which only Selendis noticed and that caused her to look away with a nervous look. "HOWEVER, THE FACT THAT YOU THREE CAME HERE TO, AT THE VERY LEAST, HANG OUT WITH ME SHOWS JUST HOW COOL OF FRIENDS YOU ARE! AS SUCH, I WISH TO GIVE YOU TWO PRESENTS!"

Tenebris chuckled a bit. "You don't have to, Papyrus. We're content with making you happy from this."

"NONSENSE! I MUSH GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO SHOW MY APPRECIATION. GIFT NUMBER ONE: I WISH TO GIVE YOU MY PHONE NUMBER SO YOU CAN TALK TO ME ANY TIME YOU WISH!" That made Selendis snort in amusement since you typically give your phone number to someone you want to seriously date. "SECONDLY, I WANT TO GIVE YOU THIS… COOL-LOOKING, BUT OTHERWISE CREEPY CRYSTAL I FOUND THE OTHER DAY!"

That immediately got the attention of all three humans. "You found a weird-looking crystal?!"

The skeleton was taken aback by the trio's outburst before clearing his 'throat'. "WHY YES, I DID INDEED FIND IT THE OTHER DAY. I WANT TO GIVE IT TO TENEBRIS SINCE IT MATCHES THE PURPLE OF HIS EYE!" He walked over to his box of bones and fished around a little bit. "AH! HERE IT IS!"

Sure enough, it was a glowing, purple crystal, though this one looked like it was chipped on both sides rather than just one. Tenebris hesitantly reached out for it, hoping that this one didn't contain any memories. "May… I see it?"

Papyrus obliged with excitement. Sure enough, the crystal flashed before shattering in a burst of light, with said light going into he reappeared soul. Another section of the soul became flawless, but the two flawless sections suddenly fused together, leaving a half complete soul. Tenebris also relearned everything he "supposedly learned around this exact same time", but it was completely ignored.

He did get new memories, starting where the ones from the previous crystal ended. He remembers continually running through the barren paths of Snowdin forest, seeing all of the piles of monster dust scattered all over the place as he desperately called out to Selendis and Frisk.

The last memory given to him from it was him holding Selendis' dying body.

Unlike the last crystal where he let out a cry of surprise, this one was different. He let out a scream of pure anguish, tears instantly streaming down his face as that exact same scream echoed in his memories.

His scream immediately caused concern over Tenebris' well-being, even getting Sans' attention from it being one of the few things he remembers from the last timeline. It also horrified Frisk; when Chara was in control and after trekking through Waterfall for a little bit, she had heard a distant, echoing scream from behind her. She realized it now: that was Tenebris' scream from when he found Selendis.

Selendis, unaware of what had happened or why Tenebris screamed like that, quickly caught him as he fell over. "Tenebris? What's wrong?! Please answer me!"

He took one tear-filled look at her before suddenly bringing her closer, clutching her like she was going to slip away from his reach, and sobbing even harder. "Please… don't… leave… me… us…"

Selendis could tell that it was like he was begging her not to die. With this in mind, she tried her best to comfort the distressed boy. "Shh… it's okay, I'm not leaving you or Frisk… it's okay…"

Sans had been observing the scene as Papyrus started freaking out over his gift causing Tenebris so much anguish, a somber look on his face. He sincerely didn't want Tenebris or anybody reliving what happened last timeline, but it looked like Tenebris has to stand being the cosmic chew-toy once again.

Slowly but surely, Selendis managed to calm Tenebris down, though tears and the occasional sob still came from him. Even though he wasn't paying attention, a small pain appeared in his soul, disconnected from the pain of the loss he felt from reliving the loss of Selendis' life.


End file.
